Section 148 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 13 to 14, inclusive, the words “in full on the day of his discharge” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-  on the next regularly scheduled pay period; provided, that it is not greater than 2 weeks from the date of discharged; provided, further, that if the next regular pay period is greater than 2 weeks, payment shall be issued prior to 2 weeks from the discharge date; and, provided that if a person having employees in his or her service does not comply with this provision such person shall be subject to imprisonment in the house of corrections for no more than 2½ years and the employee shall be entitled to treble damages; provided, however, that in case such person having employees is under bankruptcy protection, is considering bankruptcy protection or anticipates that they may go out of business prior to this next pay date, such person having employees shall pay the employee on date of discharge.