20Claims

(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint ¹[any Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation or any officer of the Central Government exercising functions as a Labour Commissioner for any region, or any officer of the State Government not below the rank of Labour Commissioner or any] other officer with experience as a Judge of a Civil Court or as a stipendiary Magistrate to be the Authority to hear and decide for any specified area all claims arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages ²[or in respect of the payment of remuneration for days of rest or for work done on such days under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 13 or of wages at the overtime rate under section 14,] to employees employed or paid in that area.

(2) ³[Where an employee has any claim of the nature referred to in sub-section (1)], the employee himself, or any legal practitioner or any official of a registered trade union authorised in writing to act on his behalf, or any Inspector, or any person acting with the permission of the Authority appointed under sub-section (1), may apply to such Authority for a direction under sub-section (3):

Provided that every such application shall be presented within six months from the date on which the minimum wages ²[or other amount] became payable:

Provided further that any application may be admitted after the said period of six months when the applicant satisfies the Authority that he had sufficient cause for not making the application within such period.

⁴[(3) When any application under sub-section (2) is entertained, the Authority shall hear the applicant and the employer, or give them an opportunity of being heard, and after such further inquiry, if any, as it may consider necessary, may, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the employer may be liable under this Act, direct--

(i) in the case of a claim arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages, the payment to the employee of the amount by which the minimum wages payable to him exceed the amount actually paid, together with the payment of such compensation as the Authority may think fit, not exceeding ten times the amount of such excess;

(ii) in any other case, the payment of the amount due to the employee, together with the payment of such compensation as the Authority may think fit, not exceeding ten rupees,

and the Authority may direct payment of such compensation in cases where the excess or the amount due is paid by the employer to the employee before the disposal of the application.]

(4) If the Authority hearing any application under this section is satisfied that it was either malicious or vexatious, it may direct that a penalty not exceeding fifty rupees be paid to the employer by the person presenting the application.

(5) Any amount directed to be paid under this section may be recovered--

(a) if the Authority is a Magistrate, by the Authority as if it were a fine imposed by the Authority as a Magistrate, or

(b) if the Authority is not a Magistrate, by any Magistrate to whom the Authority makes application in this behalf, as if it were a fine imposed by such Magistrate.

(6) Every direction of the Authority under this section shall be final.

(7) Every Authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), for the purpose of taking evidence and of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents, and every such Authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for all the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898).

STATE AMENDMENTS

Kerala--

Amendment of Section 20--In section 20 of the Minimum wages Act, 1948 (Central Act 11 of 1948) (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act),--

(a) in sub-section (1), for the words "or any officer of the State Government not below the rank of a Labour Commissioner, the words "or any officer of the State Government not below the rank of a Deputy Labour Commissioner shall be substituted;

(b) in sub-section (4), for the words "fifty rupees", the words one hundred rupees" shall be substituted;

(c) in sub-section (5), for clause (b), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:--

"(b) if the Authority is not a Magistrate, by the Authority, as if it were arrears of revenue due on land, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery.".

[Vide Kerala Act 23 of 2017, sec. 2].

Karnataka--

Amendment of section 20.--In section 20 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (Central Act XI of 1948), (herein after referred to as the Principal Act,--

(i) in sub-section (1), for the words not below the rank of Labour Commissioner", the words "not below the rank of Assistant Labour Commissioner" shall be substituted.

(ii) in sub-section (4), for the words "fifty rupees" the words one thousand rupees shall be substituted.

[Vide Karnataka Act 40 of 2017, sec. 2].

STATE AMENDMENT

KARNATAKA

In sub-section (1) of section 20, for the words "stipendiary Magistrate" the words "Judicial Magistrate" shall be substituted.

[Vide Karnataka Act 13 of 1965, s. 67 and Schedule]