In another rare decision on compensation issues, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the criminal conviction of an employer who failed to pay wages. In State v. Lynch,
287 Conn. 464 (2008), the court held that an employee's agreement to defer the accrual of wages, until the employer can afford to pay them, does not absolve the employer from criminal liability for wages that are already past due at the time of the agreement. 

The defendant, Daniel P. Lynch, was the majority owner and managing member of Wireless Communications Products, L.L.C., a small start-up company specializing in the development of infrared communications systems. In 1999, Wireless began experiencing cash flow problems, and in 2001, it began to miss its biweekly payroll. In October 2002, Lynch met with four of Wireless' employees and informed them that, although the company had no source of revenue, it was trying to secure an important government contract.  Lynch told the employees that if Wireless was awarded the contract, it would be able to pay both their past and future wages. At Lynch's request, each of the four employees continued working for Wireless, and each signed a written agreement that their wages would not become due unless and until Wireless acquired sufficient revenue to pay them.  Eventually, each of the four employees resigned and filed claims with the Connecticut Department of Labor for unpaid wages totaling more than $250,000. The Department of Labor asked the state's attorney's office to prosecute Lynch under section 31-71g of the Connecticut General Statutes, which authorizes criminal penalties of imprisonment and fines to the individual who is responsible for the employer's failure to pay wages.


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