Updated Oct. 2016 Employers love calling their workers independent contractors. As the SJC has pointed out, employers receive a windfall when they misclassify employees as independent contractors: The “windfall” the Legislature appeared most concerned with is the “windfall” that employers enjoy…
Wage, Wage Set-Offs
What Is a “Valid Set-Off” Under the Massachusetts Wage Act?
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Unpaid wage law continues to develop in Massachusetts. Most recently, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) provided extensive guidance on what constitutes a valid deduction from wages–called a “valid set-off” in the law. In Camara v. Attorney General, 458 Mass. 756 (2011), the…
Wage
Wage Act Statute of Limitations in Massachusetts
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The statute of limitations for a claim for unpaid wages is three years. See M.G.L. c. 149, § 150. The statute of limitations for contract claims is six years, so a claim for unpaid wages can be brought after the…
Commissions, Wage
Are Bonuses Wages in Massachusetts?
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As I wrote previously, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently decided the case of Suominen v. Goodman Industrial Equities, 78 Mass. App. Ct. 723 (2011). In Suominen, the plaintiff was a former construction manager of a small real estate development firm and was…
Commissions, Wage
Bonuses and Commissions under the Wage Act
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It matters a great deal whether a certain type of pay is covered by the Massachusetts Weekly Payment of Wages Act (“Wage Act”). If a type of unpaid compensation is covered by the Wage Act, an employee is entitled to…