(a) A statutory lien is created on the real and personal property of a corporation for up to 30 days of unpaid wages.

(b) The liability of a corporation to an employee for unpaid wages which were earned for a 30-day period prior to the filing of a new mortgage or other lien upon the property of the corporation, in all cases, shall be a first lien thereon, notwithstanding any mortgage or other lien thereon recorded after such wages were earned. Notice of the lien if on personal property shall be filed with the Secretary of State and, if on real property, in the land records, by the employee or the Department of Labor acting on behalf of one or more employees. An employee who is owed wages or the Department of Labor acting on behalf of one or more employees may file an action to execute on the lien in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county in which the corporation has its principal place of business in the State, or in the Civil Division of the Washington County Superior Court. (Amended 2011, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)