Law for Business 10th Edition by James Barnes,Terry Dworkin,Eric Richards

Exercise 10

Nanowski and two others formed a company to help European businesses get financing. Nanowski was the president and majority shareholder and was responsible for day-to-day operations. Over five months some employees were not paid, some had their paychecks returned for insufficient funds, and others were told not to cash their checks until Nanowski told them to do so. Nanowski never paid them and they eventually quit. They filed complaints with the department of labor. Nanowski was convicted of failure to pay wages in violation of the state labor law. The law stated that "whenever an employee voluntarily [resigns], the employer shall pay the employee's wages in full not later than the next regular pay day." Nanowski appealed his conviction, arguing that criminal law requires a "guilty mind" and that he never intended to fail to pay his employees. Should the conviction be overturned? Explain why.