In State v. Lynch, 287 Conn. 464 (2008), the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the criminal conviction of an employer who failed to pay wages. 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 supreme court drew a distinction between employees? agreements to defer the accrual of future wages, which the court previously held are valid, and agreements to defer the accrual of past due, previously accrued wages, which are invalid because they violate public policy.

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