Tag Archives: wages

Key Takeaways:

• The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) has held that employers failing to make payment of earned wages within the time required by the Massachusetts Wage Act are liable for damages equal to three times the amount of the late payment.
• Massachusetts employers are subject to treble damages immediately, even before the employee makes a demand or files a complaint.
• Massachusetts employers should implement measures to ensure that earned wages are paid in a timely manner consistent with the Wage Act to avoid treble damages.…

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On October 28, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new rule affecting employers with tipped employees. The rule limits the circumstances under which employers may take a “tip credit” against an employee’s wages – thus reducing the minimum wage the employee must be paid – to time the employee is actually performing tipped work or engaged in activity that “directly supports” tip-producing work.

Federal rules surrounding the tip credit have undergone significant changes over the past few years.… More

Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) resolved a contested issue under the Massachusetts Wage Act, ruling that successful Wage Act plaintiffs are entitled to prejudgment interest on the unpaid wages and other benefits they are awarded. However, the SJC held that employees cannot recover interest on the liquidated damages they are awarded for Wage Act violations.

The SJC’s decision in George, et al.… More