§ 655. Wage board; procedure; report. 1. Wage board. A wage board\nshall be composed of not more than three representatives of employers,\nan equal number of representatives of employees and an equal number of\npersons selected from the general public. The commissioner shall\nappoint the members of the board, the representatives of the employers\nand employees to be selected so far as practicable from nominations\nsubmitted by employers and employees in such occupation or occupations.\nThe commissioner shall designate as the chairman one of the members\nselected from the general public. The members of the board shall not\nreceive a salary or other compensation, but shall be paid actual and\nnecessary traveling expenses while engaged in the performance of their\nduties.\n 2. Organization. The chairman of the board is authorized to delegate\nto a panel of the members, composed of an equal number of employer,\nemployee and public members, any or all of the powers which the board\nitself may exercise, except as otherwise provided in subdivision four of\nthis section. Two-thirds of the members of the board or of a panel, as\nthe case may be, shall constitute a quorum. The commissioner may from\ntime to time formulate rules governing the manner in which the wage\nboard shall function and perform its duties under this article.\n 3. Powers. The wage board shall have power to conduct public hearings.\nThe board may also consult with employers and employees, and their\nrespective representatives, in the occupation or occupations involved,\nand with such other persons, including the commissioner, as it shall\ndetermine. The board shall also have power to administer oaths and to\nrequire by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the\nproduction of all books, records, and other evidence relative to any\nmatters under inquiry. Such subpoenas shall be signed and issued by the\nchairman of the board, or any other public member, and shall be served\nand have the same effect as if issued out of the supreme court. The\nboard shall have power to cause depositions of witnesses residing within\nor without the state to be taken in the manner prescribed for like\ndepositions in civil actions in the supreme court. The board shall not\nbe bound by common law or statutory rules of procedure or evidence.\n 4. Report. Within forty-five days of the appointment of the wage board\nto inquire into wages in any occupation or occupations, the board shall\n(a) conduct public hearings and (b) submit to the commissioner a report,\nincluding its recommendations as to minimum wages and regulations for\nthe employees in such occupation or occupations. The report and\nrecommendations of the board shall be submitted only after a vote of not\nless than a majority of all its members in support of such report and\nrecommendations. No report or recommendation of a panel shall be\nsubmitted without the prior vote of not less than a majority of all the\nmembers of the board in support of such report or recommendation. The\ncommissioner may extend up to ninety days the time in which the report\nshall be submitted.\n 5. Minimum wage recommendations. (a) The minimum wage recommended by\nthe wage board shall not be in excess of an amount sufficient to provide\nadequate maintenance and to protect the health of the employees. In no\nevent, however, shall any minimum wage recommended by the board be less\nthan the wage specified in section six hundred fifty-two of this\nchapter, except (1) as expressly otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of\nthis subdivision, and (2) where the board finds conditions of employment\nare such as to make an hourly rate impracticable, in which event the\nboard may recommend a wage rate other than an hourly rate, provided that\nsuch recommended rate carries out the purposes of this article and\nsafeguards the minimum wage specified in section six hundred fifty-two\nof this chapter. The board may classify employments in any occupat
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