Section 148 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, for the purposes of this section the word “wages” shall include, but not be limited to, any funds paid or agreed to be paid to an employee pursuant to a severance or other employment agreement or company policy, either prior to or after termination of the employee’s employment, where the funds paid or agreed to be paid are: (i) not for services that are actually performed, not made pursuant to an agreement to settle a claim and not based on performance criteria other than years of service; and (ii) paid or agreed to be paid periodically on either a weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly or annual basis with regular deductions; provided, however, that the word “wages” shall not include said funds when paid in a single lump sum.