Generally, employers cannot require that employees participate in job training without pay. CVS recently learned this lesson in the case of St. Pierre, et al. v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 13-13202-TSH (D. Mass. Sept. 18, 2017) (Hillman, J.).…
Category: Massachusetts Wage Claims
Wage Class Action Certified in Massachusetts Superior Court
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On September 13, 2017, the Massachusetts Superior Court for Suffolk County certified a class action against Helping Hands Company, Inc., a provider of home care services in Massachusetts. Escorbor v. Helping Hands Co., Inc, C.A. No. 15-2053-D. (Suffolk Sup. Crt. 2017)…
Retail Sunday Pay and Massachusetts Wage Act
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Massachusetts retailers must pay employees who work on Sunday “one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate.” M.G.L. c. 136, § 6(50). However, traditionally, this law could only be enforced by the Attorney General: Individual employees and groups of employees could…
MA Court Adopts Relieved-of-All-Duties Standard for Meal Breaks
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The Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court for Suffolk County heard the defendants’ summary judgment motion in our case, Devito v. Longwood Security Services, Inc., a certified class action on behalf of a group of security officers who, during breaks, had…
How to Collect Unpaid Wages in Massachusetts
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The Massachusetts Wage Act is one of the strongest wage laws in the country, protecting employees who don’t receive earned wages, salaries, commissions and other forms of compensation. What makes the law so strong? First and foremost, once an employee files a case for…
Delivery Fees and Tips Law
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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…
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…
Case Report: Longwood Security Class Action Notice Mailed
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Yesterday 812 former and current security officers were mailed a notice informing them that (1) there is a pending case against Longwood Security Services, Inc. for unpaid wages, (2) the court certified the case as a class action, (3) they…
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…