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Massachusetts Wage and Overtime Rights
Your right to get paid in Massachusetts

Unpaid Wages in Massachusetts
(go to overtime section)

The Massachusetts Weekly Payment of Wages Law, G.L. 149, s. 148 et seq., is the most important protection for employee wages in Massachusetts. There are several key points to this law:

When should you be paid? Your employer must pay your earned wages within six days after the termination of the pay period or within seven days if you have a seven-day workweek. If you are terminated you must be paid in full on the day of discharge. If you resign you must be paid on the next payday. Your employer can not withhold payment of your full wages or make improper deductions from your wages.

What are wages? Wages include the obvious: your salary or hourly pay. However, in addition the Wage Act covers commissions, bonuses, vacation, and other forms of "pay."

When are commissions covered by the Massachusetts Wage Act? Commission disputes are fairly common in Massachusetts. Although it used to be a hotly contested point, the Massachusetts courts have recently made it very clear that the Wage Act applies to all employment commissions as long as they are "due and payable" and "definitely determined." The Massachusetts Wage Act states as included in the Wage Act, "so far as apt, to the payment of commissions when the amount of such commissions, less allowable or authorized deductions, has been definitely determined and has become due and payable to such employee."

When is a commission "definitely determined"?  As the Supreme Judicial Court stated in the seminal case of in Wiedmann v. The Bradford Group, Inc., 444 Mass. 698 (2005), a commission payment is definitely determined when it can be calculated arithmetically.  This requires that all of the mathematical factors needed to calculate the commission be known or knowable.
 
When in a commissions "due and payable"? All commissions are based on contingencies, usually sales. Companies have the right to define when and under what circumstances commissions will be due and payable. If an employer is smart and careful, they will put this in writing and make sure all of the factors are very clear, including timing of payment.  If an employer is silent on commission terms, its actions and practices will be used to fill them in.

What should I do to get my unpaid wages in Massachusetts? It depends on the situation, but often it is smart to contact an attorney ASAP. The reason for this is that the law says that payment of the wages after the filing of a complaint is not a defense to the action. If it weren't for this provision, employers could just hold the payment of wages over employees' heads, make them spend time and money chasing their wages, and then just pay the wages and get out of the whole mess at no additional cost. The law does not intend that result. The law provides that the employee will receive three times their unpaid wages and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs if the employee takes their case to court and wins. A law that became effective July 13, 2008 made triple damages mandatory if you win your case.

What if I am still employed and want my unpaid wages,  but do not want to be fired? It is illegal to fire an employee for trying to get paid their wages. The law says "No employee shall be penalized by an employer in any way as a result of any action on the part of an employee to seek his or her rights under the wages and hours provisions of this chapter." See G.L. 149, s. 148A. That being said, your employer may still fire you or otherwise punish you for seeking your wages, but this would give rise to a possible retaliation lawsuit. The Supreme Judicial Court in Smith v. Winter Place, LLC held that even internal complaints (to a boss or manager leading to your dismissal) could form the basis of a retaliation claim.

We are Massachusetts attorneys representing individuals in unpaid wage and overtime cases.  If you think your employer owes you wages, send an email to nfo@mass-legal.com describing your situation.  When we take on a wage or overtime case, we usually do so on a contingent fee basis, which means that we do not charge any fees unless there is a successful settlement or judgment.

 

Massachusetts Overtime Rights

Most employees working over 40 hours in any work week must be paid at least 1 ½ times their regular rate of pay.

Several categories of employees are excluded under both Massachusetts Overtime Act and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and need not be paid overtime. The most important categories are "bona fide" executives, professional, and administrative personnel. The key terms here is "bona fide." There is an economic incentive for employers to misclassify workers who are non-exempt (entitled to overtime) as exempt (not entitled to overtime) by claiming that they are executives or administrative personnel. There are complex rules for determining whether an employer is a bona fide executive, but essentially one must have real managerial authority to direct the work of other, hire and fire, etc....

Many cases for back payment of overtime involve the misclassification of workers as executive employees. Also, the administrative exemption is not what the word necessarily suggests. Not all employees who work in offices and do "administrative" tasks are administrative employees for purposes of the exemption. See Kelli K. Goodrow vs. Lane Bryant, Inc., 432 Mass. 165, 170-1 (2000) (discussing bona fide executive test under Massachusetts and federal law). Your best bet is to contact an attorney for a consultation if you are working more that 40 hours each week and think you should be entitled to overtime.

Misclassification of employees as independent contractors: Distinguishing between employees and contractors can be complicated, but the essence of it is that contractors exercise independent judgment over the manner and means of their work. If a employer misclassifies an employee as a consultant or independent contractor, it can be liable for its share of employment taxes. It also can be liable to pay back overtime if the employee is not exempt and has worked more than 40 hours in a week. In addition, if the employee is hurt on the job, the employer may be subject to penalties for failure to provide workers' compensation coverage, and may be subject to a personal injury lawsuit by the employee.
 

We are Massachusetts attorneys representing individuals in unpaid wage and overtime cases.  If you think your employer owes you wages, send an email to nfo@mass-legal.com describing your situation.  When we take on a wage or overtime case, we usually do so on a contingent fee basis, which means that we do not charge any fees unless there is a successful settlement or judgment.

 

 

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Ortiz & O'Donnell is a trade name of the Law Office of Nicholas F. Ortiz, P.C.  Any information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice or a complete explanation of any topic. Any person making an inquiry via this web site is advised that no attorney-client relationship will be formed without a signed written agreement.