The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania House Bill 718 increases penalties for unpaid wages, expands employer definitions to include government entities, and establishes the Wage Enforcement Fund
Last action · February 24, 2025: Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, Feb. 24, 2025Sponsors: Emily Kinkead and 27 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Pennsylvania House Bill 718 expands the definition of employers under the Wage Payment and Collection Law to include the Commonwealth and political subdivisions, raises civil penalties for unpaid wages to $2,000 per violation or triple the unpaid wages, and creates a dedicated financed by collected fines.
Workers gain access to triple damages and attorney fees for delayed wages, while public sector agencies and authorities become legally liable as employers under state wage laws with mandatory quarterly reporting and targeted industry investigations.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employees in Pennsylvania
Workers are eligible for increased liquidated damages, triple unpaid wages, and enhanced protections against retaliatory discharge.
Public-sector employers and authorities
State and local government bodies, agencies, and public authorities are newly classified as employers subject to wage claims and penalties.
High-violation industries
Industries incurring 25 or more violations over a two-year period are subject to mandatory quarterly investigations by the department.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What public sector entities are newly classified as employers under this bill?
What happens to the fines and penalties collected from wage violations?
How often must the Department of Labor and Industry investigate high-violation industries?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Feb 24, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, Feb. 24, 2025
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 23 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Wage Law to Public Sector
The bill shifts public entities and authorities into the definition of employers, making them directly subject to wage claim liability and penalties under the Wage Payment and Collection Law.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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