## Facts

- Coma Corporation operated a Wichita restaurant; Mario Coria was its president.
- Cesar Martinez Corral, an undocumented worker, alleged he worked as a cook from October 2003 to May 12, 2004 at an agreed rate of $6/hour, with weekly pay.
- Corral claimed he worked 6–7 days per week (about 50–60 hours) but was paid only about $50–$60 per week.
- Corral filed a wage claim with the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) seeking unpaid wages for the period worked.
- A KDOL hearing officer found Coma owed unpaid wages plus interest and imposed a civil penalty under the Kansas Wage Payment Act (KWPA), totaling $7,657.
- Coma sought judicial review; the district court held that, because Corral was undocumented, he was limited to minimum wage for work performed and was not entitled to the KWPA penalty.

## Issues

1. Whether the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) preempts the KWPA as to recovery of earned but unpaid wages by an undocumented worker.
2. Whether an undocumented worker’s employment contract is unenforceable as “illegal,” barring wage recovery under the KWPA.
3. Whether KDOL could assess a KWPA penalty for willful failure to pay wages, and whether willfulness is a factual determination.

## Decision

- The Kansas Supreme Court held IRCA does not preempt the KWPA regarding earned but unpaid wages owed to an undocumented worker.
- The Court held that, on these facts, the worker’s employment contract was not illegal under IRCA and was enforceable under the KWPA; the district court erred in limiting recovery based on immigration status.
- The Court held that K.S.A. 44-315(b) authorizes a penalty when an employer willfully fails to pay wages and that willfulness is a question of fact.
- The Court concluded the district court erred in reversing KDOL’s penalty determination and reinstated the administrative penalty.
- Disposition: affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court; affirmed KDOL’s order (wages, interest, and penalty).

## Legal Principles

- IRCA does not preempt generally applicable state wage-payment remedies for earned but unpaid wages owed to undocumented workers.
- The KWPA’s coverage turns on the statute’s text; absent an exclusion, undocumented workers fall within the statute’s definition of “employee” for wage-payment purposes.
- An employer may not avoid paying wages already earned by asserting an illegality defense grounded in the worker’s unauthorized status, where doing so would allow the employer to benefit from the nonpayment.
- Under K.S.A. 44-315(b), an employer that willfully fails to pay wages is liable for both wages due and a statutory penalty; willfulness is a factual issue for determination in the particular case.
- When a statute is plain and unambiguous, courts apply it as written to effect legislative intent expressed in the statutory language.

## Conclusion

Kansas wage-payment protections extend to undocumented workers seeking earned but unpaid wages, and federal immigration law does not displace those remedies; employers that willfully withhold wages remain subject to statutory penalties under the KWPA.


Coma Corp. v. Kan. Dep’t of Labor, 154 P.3d 1080 (Kan. 2007)