Massachusetts Employment Law Blog

Contractors working on public works projects must pay their workers prevailing wages, even when the Department of Labor fails to set a prevailing wage rate for a particular job. In George et al v. National Water Main Cleaning Company et al, the contractor hired “catch basin cleaning” employees to clean state and city sewers. The…

Once limited to two or three years of recovery for unpaid wages under Massachusetts law, employees can now look back up to six years. This week, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that employees could recover unpaid wages using common law breach of contract and other causes of action. Important? Absolutely. Under common law, employers may…

If you are paid by the hour, be wary of your company’s policies regarding working through breaks, lunches, and after your shift – especially when lunch deductions are automatic. Working more hours than you are paid for could be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Manning v. Boston Med. Ctr. Corp.,…

A parent corporation who franchises out their business can be found liable for the franchisee’s unpaid wages. In Depianti v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., Depianti will now be able to claim against Jan-Pro, even though he does not directly work for them. Depianti was misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee by the…

Should LLC managers escape the Wage Act because they avoid the titles “President” and “Treasurer.” Definitely not. Peter Cook filed action for unpaid wages against Patient Edu, LLC and two of its managers, Steven Graziano and Michael Schulman. The managers argued that they could not be liable for unpaid wages, because the company was an…

Serious failure to reimburse employees for the business expenses they incur in their jobs may be tantamount to unlawful deductions from wages. In Fraelick v. PerkettPR, Inc., Fraelick sought such reimbursement from her employer, after a couple years’ worth of failures. While business expenses had never counted as unpaid wages under the Wage Act, the…

Live and work as a driver in New York? Independent contractors working in New York recently received the benefits of Massachusetts law. A Massachusetts Court just ruled that people who live and work in New York, but are employed by a Massachusetts company with a Massachusetts contract, can bring an action against their employer based…

Temporary warehouse workers in Nevada found themselves passing through security screens at the close of their shifts to minimize thefts. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Busk v. Integrity Staffing Solutions, says this is compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here, Busk and Castro have alleged that Integrity requires the security screenings,…

Are you required to pay the costs of operating your truck? Insurance, gas, repairs, paint, equipment? You may be entitled to all of it back, with triple damages. A delivery company that outsourced its deliveries to a variety of individuals and companies, was forced to recognize those drivers as employees and not independent contractors. This…

Companies are bought and sold on a regular basis, and a question often arises as to whether the new owner is responsible for wage and hour violations. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals , in Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions, LLC, looked at just such a situation where one company bought another company’s…