News & Analysis as of

Employer Liability Issues Wage and Hour MA Supreme Judicial Court

Foley Hoag LLP

SJC Rules that Employees Do Not Accrue Benefits During Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave

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In its September 13, 2024 decision in Bodge et al. v. Commonwealth et al., SJC-13567 (2024), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled that an employer’s policy of denying the accrual of certain benefits to...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rejects Compensation Plan Allocating Commissions to Overtime and Premium Pay

On March 28, 2024, in Sutton v. Jordan’s Furniture, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upheld a Massachusetts Superior Court decision finding the furniture retailer’s commission-based compensation scheme...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

First Circuit Finds Commission Plan’s Windfall Provision Permissible Under Massachusetts Wage Act

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In Klauber v. VMWare, the First Circuit upheld an employer’s use of a provision in its compensation plan that allowed it to modify commissions on certain large or atypical sales. These “windfall” clauses are common in sales...more

Fisher Phillips

Massachusetts High Court Says Grubhub Delivery Drivers Must Arbitrate Claims

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held yesterday that local Grubhub delivery drivers are not exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and those workers can be compelled to individually arbitrate their...more

Verrill

Massachusetts Employers Beware: Any Late Wage Payment Means Liability for Triple Damages

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Last month, in Reuter v. City of Methuen, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that any late payment of wages by an employer results in strict liability for treble damages under the Wage Act. Prior to this ruling,...more

Fisher Phillips

Massachusetts High Court Hears Argument on Gig Driver Ballot Question

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As we wrote back in January, Massachusetts is in the midst of a multi-fora battle over whether gig drivers (those using app-based platforms such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart) should be treated as employees or...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Wage Act Updates: Massachusetts’ Highest Court Finds Limited FLSA Preemption of Wage Act Remedies and Employers Should Prepare for...

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MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT RULING – GOOD NEWS FOR EMPLOYERS - It has been a busy Spring for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). On April 14, 2022, on the heels of Reuter v. City of Methuen (see our...more

Morgan Lewis

Massachusetts High Court Issues Three Major Wage and Hour Decisions

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently issued three decisions with significant implications for employers in the commonwealth, holding that (1) when an employer pays wages to an employee after the deadlines...more

Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

SJC Decision Precludes Employees’ Pursuit of Remedies under the Massachusetts Wage Act for Untimely Payment of Overtime Wages Due...

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) recently foreclosed on a theory of recovery sought by plaintiffs in non-payment of wages cases: to avail themselves of the Massachusetts Wage Act’s treble damages provision...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Massachusetts Imposes Additional Potential Liability on Employers for Wage-and-Hour Compliance

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In a departure from earlier court decisions, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has imposed additional potential liability on employers for wage-and-hour compliance. In Reuter v. City of Methuen, the SJC explained...more

Perkins Coie

Failure to Pay Wages Due at Discharge Can Incur Triple Damages in Massachusetts

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Late payment of final compensation just became significantly more expensive for employers with workers in Massachusetts. In an opinion on April 4, 2022, Reuter v. City of Methuen, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds That FLSA Preempts Wage Act Remedies for Federal Overtime Violations

On April 14, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that when an employee pursues and succeeds on a claim for the failure to pay overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employee may...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules that Employees with Federal Overtime Claims Cannot Obtain Remedies Under the...

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On April 14, 2022, the SJC held that where employees’ sole claims for overtime wages rest on the employer’s liability under the FLSA, employees are limited to the remedies provided under the FLSA, and may not receive treble...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules Employer Must Pay Treble Damages on Late Wage Payments

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On April 4, 2022, the SJC held that employers must pay treble damages on late wage payments, even if the employee has not filed a Wage Act complaint with the Office of the Attorney General or a court before the payment is...more

WilmerHale

Massachusetts SJC Rules that Employers are Strictly Liable for Treble Damages for Delayed Wage Payments

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Overturning nearly 20 years of lower-court precedent, on April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a landmark decision holding that an employer is strictly liable for treble damages for any late...more

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP

Massachusetts Wage Update: SJC Overturns Years Of Precedent And Finds That Employers Must Automatically Pay Triple Damages If...

It is well known that if a Massachusetts employer terminates an employee, the employer risks being liable for three times the amount of wages owed if payment is not made on the last day of employment. A lesser known corollary...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Massachusetts Employers Are Strictly Liable for Treble Damages for Late Wage Payments

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On April 4, 2022, in Reuter v. City of Methuen, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that employers are strictly liable for treble damages on late wage payments even when an employee has not yet filed suit asserting...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Massachusetts SJC Upends Existing Law, Requires Treble Damages on Late-Paid Wages

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on April 4, 2022, handed down a decision with major implications for Massachusetts employers accused of wage-and-hour law violations or late payment of wages. In Reuter v. City...more

Goodwin

No Safe Harbor for Late Payments to Massachusetts Employees: Pay on Time or Pay Triple

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On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued its decision in Reuter v. City of Methuen, holding that an employer must pay treble (triple) damages if the organization is late in paying the wages of...more

Littler

Massachusetts High Court Expands Employer Liability for Late Payment of Wages

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In Reuter v. City of Methuen (April 4, 2022), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court expanded an employer’s liability for the late payment of wages.  Generally, Massachusetts law requires that an employer that terminates an...more

BakerHostetler

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Abrogates Employers’ Sole Defense to Automatic Treble Damages Liability for Late Final Wage...

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On April 4, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed employees there yet another victory in Reuter v. City of Methuen, holding that they are automatically entitled to triple damages for any late payment of final wages...more

Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

SJC Holds Employers Liable for Full Amount of Treble Damages When Wages Are Paid Late

On April 4, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court issued its opinion in Reuter v. City of Methuen, SJC-13121, holding that where an employer fails to pay a terminated employee wages on the “day of discharge” as required by the...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Massachusetts SJC: Employers Are Strictly Liable for Treble Damages for Late, Pre-Suit Wage Payments

On April 4, 2022, in Reuter v. City of Methuen, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that employers are strictly liable for treble damages for making late wage payments, even when an employee has not yet filed...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Massachusetts Court Rules on Massachusetts Wage Act’s Treble Damages

Employers take note: the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled this week for an employee seeking treble damages for untimely paid wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act (“Wage Act”), even though the employer had...more

Conn Kavanaugh

Late Payment of Wages Means Triple Liability for Employers Even If Wages Are Paid Before Suit is Filed

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On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) dispelled the notion that employers can avoid triple liability for late payment of wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, M.G.L. c. 149, § 148 (“Wage Act”),...more

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