Many workers in Massachusetts earn the majority of their wages in tips. For this reason, Massachusetts has strong laws to ensure that tipped employees receive all of their earned tips. In other words, every dollar that a customer pays as…
Category: Wage
Massachusetts Sick Time Law
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About one year ago, Massachusetts became one of only a handful of states that enacted an earned sick time law for employees. Under the law, most Massachusetts employees can earn up to 40 hours of sick time. If you work…
Controversial On-Call Scheduling in Massachusetts
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The Massachusetts Attorney General recently joined the New York Attorney General and others in an inquiry into the controversial practice of retail on-call scheduling. Some large, national retailers receiving a letter were BCBG Max Azria, Carter’s Inc, Canada’s DavidsTea Inc,…
Case Report: Wage Act Class Action Against Restaurant Chain Can Proceed
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The Massachusetts State Superior Court issued an opinion on Jan. 5, 2016 allowing a class action for unpaid meal breaks to proceed against the Chateau restaurant chain in Massachusetts. Elizabeth Ryan of Bailey & Glasser and I are co-counsel in…
Massachusetts Employers Cannot Charge Employees for Uniforms
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Many employers in Massachusetts require their employees to wear uniforms. While this is a legal practice, it is unlawful for employers to charge employees for these uniforms. In January 2015, the Department of Labor Standards updated its wage and hour…
Auto Deductions for Work Breaks
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Lunch breaks – and other breaks – are a normal part of most employees’ work days. Under Massachusetts law, M.G.L. c. 149, s. 100, employers must provide employees with a thirty-minute meal break after working for six consecutive hours. Many…
Mary Kay Misclassification Lawsuit
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Mary Kay beauty consultants and sales directors in New Jersey recently filed a class action lawsuit against Mary Kay, claiming that the company has misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees, in violation of the New Jersey Wage Payment…
Off-the-Clock Work
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The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently issued an important overtime ruling involving off-the-clock work. What happens when an employee works overtime but the employer claims they didn’t know about it? In the case of Vitali v. Reit Management, the Appeals Court…
Home Health Care Travel Time Wage Cases
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We are handling a number of home health care cases on behalf of classes of home health care workers denied wages for their travel time between client sites. We recently gained court approval for a class action settlement against a…
Wages for Meal Breaks in Massachusetts
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Under Massachusetts law, employees are entitled to a 30-minute meal break for each six-hour period that they work. M.G.L. c. 149, s. 100 states, “No person shall be required to work for more than six hours during a calendar day without…