A few months ago, the First Circuit Court of Appeals answered a key question for union members with claims under the Massachusetts Wage Act. The case was Cavallaro v. UMASS Memorial Healthcare, 678 F.3d. 1 (1st Cir. 2012), and the…
Category: Wage
Common Violations of the Massachusetts Wage Act
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Here are some common violations of the Massachusetts Wage Act: Off-the-Clock Work Managers who say “get it done, but don’t put down overtime”; People arriving early or staying late at work; Donning and doffing–unpaid time at the beginning or end…
Wage Act Claims and the Massachusetts Attorney General
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The Massachusetts Attorney General has a special relationship to Wage Act claims in Massachusetts. The wage statute requires that an individual file a complaint for unpaid wages with the attorney general before bringing a lawsuit for triple damages and attorneys’…
Travel Pay Rights in Massachusetts
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Hourly employees are entitled to be paid for all time worked. This begs the basic question: What is work? There are regulations that define work pretty specifically in Massachusetts. In this post, I will focus on the sometimes controversial topic…
How Long Must an Employer Keep Wage Records in Massachusetts?
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In Massachusetts, employers must keep records of their employees’ working hours and wage payments for two years. M.G.L. c. 151, s. 15 states: Every employer shall keep a true and accurate record of the name, address and occupation of each…
Wage Forfeiture and Valid Set-Offs in Massachusetts
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Generally, any contractual provision that requires an employee to forfeit earned wages is a “special contract” prohibited by the Massachusetts Wage Act, M.G.L. c. 149, § 148. As the Attorney General has put it, “an employer may not enter into…
Introductory Post from a Massachusetts Wage Lawyer
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I’m a little late with this introductory post, but now that this page has garnered a bit of readership, I figured I would take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Nicholas Ortiz. I graduated from Vanderbilt University and…
Employment Agreement Requires Employee to Bring Massachusetts Wage Act in New York
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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld a forum selection clause in an employment contract requiring an employee to bring his employment claims in New York courts. In Melia vs. Zenhire, Inc., SJC-10959, (May 8, 2012), the employee brought a Massachusetts Wage Act…
Treble Damages and Attorneys’ Fees under the Massachusetts Wage Act
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The right to get paid your wages is extraordinarily strong, even if you’re mislabeled as an independent contractor. The reason for this is the Massachusetts Wage Act and the fact that it provides for mandatory treble damages and attorneys’ fees…
Massachusetts Wage Claims for Misclassified Independent Contractors
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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…