Title 24 — Labor
20 chapters · 305 sections in this title.
24 V.I.C. § 1 Statement of policy
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(a) It is declared to be the policy of this chapter: (1) to establish, so far as practicable and as rapidly as possible, minimum wage and maximum hour standards, and labor conditions at levels consistent with the health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers in the differ…
24 V.I.C. § 10 Wage orders
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(a) Upon receiving the wage board's report, regarding recommended minimum wages and maximum hours, the Commissioner shall immediately publish such recommendations in the newspapers of general circulation and shall provide for an order incorporating the recommendations of this rep…
24 V.I.C. § 11 Judicial review
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(a) Any interested person in any occupation for which any wage order or any administrative regulation has been issued under the provisions of this chapter, who may be aggrieved by any such order or regulation, may obtain a review thereof in the district court by filing in such co…
24 V.I.C. § 12 Handicapped workers
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The Commissioner shall provide regulations, after public hearing, at which any person may be heard, for the employment of individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by physical or mental disability at such wages lower than the wage rates applicable under this chapter as he ma…
24 V.I.C. § 13 Learners and apprentices
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(a) For any occupation for which no wage order, issued pursuant to section 7 of this title, is in effect the Commissioner may provide by regulation, subject to the approval of the Governor, after a public hearing at which any person may be heard, for the employment in such occupa…
24 V.I.C. § 14 Maintenance of records; inspection
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Every employer subject to any provision of this chapter or of any regulation or order issued under this chapter shall make, and keep for a period of not less than three years, in or about the premises wherein any employee is employed, a record of the name, address, and occupation…
24 V.I.C. § 15 Required postings
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(a) Every employer subject to any provision of this chapter or of any regulation or order issued under this chapter shall keep a summary of this chapter approved by the commissioner, and copies of any applicable wage orders and regulations issued under this chapter, posted in a c…
24 V.I.C. § 16 Penalties
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(a) Any employer who wilfully hinders or delays the Commissioner or his authorized representative in the performance of his duties in the enforcement of this chapter, or wilfully refuses to admit the Commissioner or his authorized representative to any place of employment during …
24 V.I.C. § 17 Remedies
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(a) Any employer who pays any employee less than the applicable wage rate to which such employee is entitled, under or by virtue of this chapter, shall be liable to such employee affected for the full amount of such wage rate, less any amount actually paid to such employee by the…
24 V.I.C. § 18 Repeals; operation of prior laws; Federal laws
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(a) All laws or ordinances or parts of laws or ordinances in conflict with this chapter are repealed: Provided, however, That the Ordinance to Prescribe Minimum Wage and Maximum Hour Standards and for Other Purposes, approved October 17, 1941, as amended, for the Municipality of …
24 V.I.C. § 19 Collective bargaining
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Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish, the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work in excess of the ap…
24 V.I.C. § 2 Definitions
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(1) As used in this chapter—“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor of the Virgin Islands;“employ” includes to suffer or to permit to work;“employee” includes any individual employed by an employer but does not include—(1) an individual employed in domestic service in a pr…
24 V.I.C. § 20 Hours of work
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(a) No employer shall employ any of his employees for (1) more than 5 consecutive days, or (2) longer than a total of 40 hours in a workweek, unless otherwise provided for pursuant to section 6(e) of this title, or (3) for a workday longer than 8 hours, unless such employee recei…
24 V.I.C. § 20a Mandatory rest periods
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(a) Except as otherwise provided for in a written contract or by a collective bargaining agreement:(a) An employer shall allow paid rest periods of a minimum of ten minutes within each four hours of continuous work.(b) Employers need not provide rest periods for employees whose t…
24 V.I.C. § 20b Mandatory meal break
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(a) Except as otherwise provided for in a written contract or by a collective bargaining agreement:(a) An employer shall provide its employees who work for a continuous period of seven hours or longer with:(1) An uninterrupted meal period of not less than 30 minutes during which …
24 V.I.C. § 20c Exemption
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(a) An employee may voluntarily agree to forego any rest period or meal period. The employer has the burden of proving the existence of the agreement with the employee. (b) An employer may apply to the Commissioner of Labor for an exemption from providing to all or to one or more…
24 V.I.C. § 21 Protection of resident workers; rules and regulations
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The Commissioner shall aid and assist resident workers in the Virgin Islands to obtain, safeguard and protect their rightful preference to be employed in occupations and industries in the Territory. He shall have the power to issue rules and regulations, which when approved by th…
24 V.I.C. § 22 Reports by Commissioner
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The Commissioner shall compile, arrange, classify, and publish statistics on wages, working hours, labor conditions and living costs. The Commissioner shall every year submit to the Governor and to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands a report of his activities during the preced…
24 V.I.C. § 23 Submission of payrolls
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Any person doing business in the Virgin Islands shall submit to the Commissioner, when requested, a copy of his weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly payroll for examination.
24 V.I.C. § 3 Administration
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The Commissioner of Labor shall administer the provisions of this chapter.
24 V.I.C. § 4 Minimum wages
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(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every employer shall pay to each of his employees including employees who are less than 18 years of age or full-time high school students at a rate not less than $8.35 per hour beginning 90 days immediately following the effective…
24 V.I.C. § 5 Powers and duties of Commissioner
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(a) The Commissioner shall have the authority to—(1) investigate, ascertain, and gather data regarding the wages, hours of work and labor conditions of persons employed in any occupation in the Virgin Islands; and(2) enter and inspect, during all reasonable hours, the place of bu…
24 V.I.C. § 6 Wage board—Composition; appointment; quorum; compensation
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(a) The Virgin Islands Wage Board, heretofore established within the Department of Labor, is continued within the Department. (b) The Board shall be composed of eight members as follows:(1) Seven voting members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Legislat…
24 V.I.C. § 7 Wage board—Duties
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(a) The wage board shall make regular and systematic investigations and studies of wages, hours, and working conditions for occupations affected by this chapter, including the annual reconsideration of all wage orders issued pursuant to this chapter. (b) The wage board shall clas…
24 V.I.C. § 8 Wage board—Evidence; powers
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(a) In prescribing minimum wage rates, the wage board shall request evidence from any interested party and, without being bound by any technical rules of evidence or procedure, shall consider, among other relevant factors:(1) the amount of compensation necessary to provide adequa…
24 V.I.C. § 9 Wage board reports
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(a) The wage board shall submit its report to the Commissioner within 60 days of the date of its request for evidence from interested persons. (b) The wage board reports shall contain findings of fact and recommendations with respect to the matters referred to it.
24 V.I.C. § 31 Purpose
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(a) The Legislature has determined that in order for the Territory to better protect its public-sector workers, it should retain the duties of regulation and enforcement of rules in places of public employment by formulating and obtaining federal approval for a Public Employee On…
24 V.I.C. § 32 Definitions
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(1) For the purpose of this chapter(1) The term “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor or the Commissioner's authorized and accredited representatives.(2) The term “employ” means to suffer or permit to work.(3) The term “employee” means an…
24 V.I.C. § 33 Applicability of this chapter
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This chapter applies with respect to employment performed in a public-sector workplace within the Virgin Islands.
24 V.I.C. § 34 Rights, duties or liabilities of public sector employer and employees
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Nothing in this chapter may be construed to supersede in any manner to affect any Workers' Compensation Administration law or to enlarge or diminish or affect in any other manner the common law or statutory rights, duties, or liabilities of public-sector employers and employees u…
24 V.I.C. § 35 Duties
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(a) Each public-sector employer shall:(1) furnish to each of its employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to its employees; and(2) comply with occupational safety a…
24 V.I.C. § 36 Powers and duties of the Commissioner
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(a) The Commissioner may:(1) investigate, develop and gather data regarding all aspects of occupational safety and health with respect to public sector employers and employees;(2) adopt, promulgate, modify and revoke, such occupational safety and health standards as are necessary…
24 V.I.C. § 37 Inspections, investigations and record-keeping
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(a) In order to carry out the purpose of this chapter, the Commissioner or his authorized representatives, upon presenting appropriate credentials to the government official in charge of the public sector workplace, may:(1) enter without delay and at reasonable times, any public …
24 V.I.C. § 38 Citations
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(a) If upon inspection or investigation, the Commissioner or the Commissioner's authorized representative believes that a public-sector employer has violated a requirement of section 35 of this chapter, of any standard, rule or order promulgated pursuant to section 36 of this cha…
24 V.I.C. § 39 Procedure for enforcement
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(a) If after an inspection or investigation the Commissioner issues a citation under section 38(a) of this chapter, he shall, within a reasonable time after the termination of the inspection or investigation, notify the public-sector employer by certified-mail of the proposed cit…
24 V.I.C. § 40 Judicial review
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(a) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by a final order of the hearing examiner issued under subsection (c) of section 39 of this title, or a final order of the Commissioner under section 41(b), may obtain a review of such order in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands…
24 V.I.C. § 41 Hearings
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(a) One or more hearing examiners shall be appointed by the Governor of the Virgin Islands upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Labor who by reason of training, education, or experience are qualified to hear and render decisions in contested cases arising under this cha…
24 V.I.C. § 42 Procedures to counteract imminent dangers
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(a) The Superior Court of the Virgin Islands has jurisdiction, upon petition of the Commissioner, to restrain any conditions or practices in any place of public-sector employment which are such that a danger exists that may reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physica…
24 V.I.C. § 43 Confidentiality of trade secrets
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All information reported to or otherwise obtained by the Commissioner or his representative in connection with any inspection or proceeding under this chapter which contains or which might reveal a trade secret referred to in Title 14, section 1665 of the Virgin Islands Code is c…
24 V.I.C. § 44 Penalties
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(a) (1) Any public-sector employer who fails to correct a serious violation for which a citation has been issued under section 38(a) within the period permitted for its correction may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each day during which such failure or vi…
24 V.I.C. § 45 Division of Occupational Safety and Health
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(a) There is established in the Department of Labor, a Division of Occupational Safety and Health headed by a Director who has the rank of Assistant Commissioner and is responsible for the administration and operation of the Occupational Safety and Health Program. (b) The Governo…
24 V.I.C. § 46 Research and statistics
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(a) The Commissioner shall seek the aid of appropriate state and federal agencies in securing information regarding research, experiments, and demonstrations for the purpose of study and development of rules and for developing criteria dealing with toxic materials and harmful age…
24 V.I.C. § 47 Training and employee education
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(a) The Commissioner may consult with the United States Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services to develop and conduct:(1) education programs to provide an adequate supply of qualified personnel to carry out the purposes of this chapter; and(2) informational programs o…
24 V.I.C. § 48 Forcible interference with conduct of inspection or other official duties
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(a) Whosoever forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates or interferes with any officer or employee of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor while engaged in or on account of the performance of his official duties shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned …
24 V.I.C. § 49 Exemptions for national defense purposes
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The Commissioner, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Labor of the United States, may allow reasonable exemptions from any or all provisions of this chapter when the exemption is necessary to avoid serious impairment of the national defense. An exemption may not be in eff…
24 V.I.C. § 50 Severability
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If any provision of this chapter or the application of the provision to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of this chapter, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affe…
24 V.I.C. § 61 Purpose
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The purpose of this chapter is to encourage the friendly adjustment of employer-employee disputes through the practice and procedure of collective bargaining, and to protect the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representati…
24 V.I.C. § 62 Definitions
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As used in this chapter—“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor;“employee” includes any employee or any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not obtained …
24 V.I.C. § 63 Administration; regulations
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(a) The Commissioner of Labor shall administer the provisions of this chapter. (b) The Commissioner, with the approval of the Governor, shall make, amend, and rescind such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
24 V.I.C. § 64 Rights of employees
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(a) Employees shall have the right of self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or prote…