The Massachusetts Appellate Division of the District Court – North District recently issued a decision regarding whether retention bonuses constitute wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”). In the matter of Nunez v. Syncsort Incorporated, NO. 23-ADCV-63NO, the court ruled that retention bonuses are not wages under the Wage Act and not subject to strict liability or treble damages under the Wage Act for failure to be timely paid.Continue Reading Court Rules Retention Bonuses Are Not Wages Under Massachusetts Wage Act
Massachusetts Governor Signs Pay Transparency and Wage Data Reporting Law
Massachusetts has joined a growing list of states and other localities to implement pay transparency legislation.
On July 31, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed into law Bill H.4890. The Bill contains new pay transparency and wage reporting requirements applicable to certain employers with employees in Massachusetts.Continue Reading Massachusetts Governor Signs Pay Transparency and Wage Data Reporting Law
Court Scrutiny Faced by The Department of Labor’s New Rule Increasing Exempt Employee Salary Thresholds
In April 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule raising the threshold salary requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for employees classified as exempt from overtime pay when working in excess of forty (40) hours in a seven (7) day workweek, (the “2024 rule”). The 2024 rule, scheduled to take effect July 1, 2024, increases the salary thresholds for the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions, and highly compensated exemption (HCE). Specifically, the 2024 rule increases the EAP exemptions from $684 per week ($35,568 per year) to $844 per week ($43,888 per year) effective July 1st, and a subsequent increase on January 1, 2025, to $1,128 per week ($58,656 per year). For the HCE, the salary threshold will increase from $107,432 per year to $132,964 per year on July 1st, and a subsequent increase on January 1, 2025, to $151,164 per year.Continue Reading Court Scrutiny Faced by The Department of Labor’s New Rule Increasing Exempt Employee Salary Thresholds
New Maine Vacation Payout Law Effective on January 1, 2023
To kick off the New Year, employers with 11 or more employees working in Maine will need to review their policy related to the handling of accrued yet unused paid vacation at the end of employment.
Maine passed an amendment to Labor Law §626 requiring unused vacation time accrued on and after January 1, 2023, to be paid to employee at the end of employment. Final wages, now including unused, accrued vacation, must be paid to terminated employees no later than the next established payday.
Continue Reading New Maine Vacation Payout Law Effective on January 1, 2023
Massachusetts Employers Beware! Treble Damages Are Available When Employers Are Even One Day Late with Final Wage Payment to Employee
The Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, §148 (the “Wage Act”) requires employers to pay employees discharged from employment all wages owed on the date of discharge. Employees who resign from their employment must be paid all wages on the next regular payday following the end of their employment. This requirement to pay all wages owed to an employee upon separation of employment includes an obligation to pay all regular wages, as well as an obligation to pay the employee for any accrued, unused vacation and certain commission payments. Failure to comply with the Wage Act’s strict time deadlines will result in mandatory awards against the employer of treble damages and attorneys’ fees. Certain officers and agents having management of the company may also face individual liability for violations.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Employers Beware! Treble Damages Are Available When Employers Are Even One Day Late with Final Wage Payment to Employee
USDOL Issues Updated Guidance for Which Parents (and Employers) Have Been Waiting
Just in time for the start of the school year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) added to its long list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for workers and employers about qualifying for paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) related to the reopening of schools.
This guidance explains eligibility for paid leave relative to the varied formats and schedules schools have announced as they plan to reopen, including hybrid models melding in-person with distance learning. The DOL addressed three different scenarios.Continue Reading USDOL Issues Updated Guidance for Which Parents (and Employers) Have Been Waiting
USDOL Issues Guidance on “Regular Rate” of Pay
Calculation of “regular rate” of pay is something which has long given employers fits, and the US Department of Labor (“DOL”) has taken a step which it hopes will clarify the definition, something which hasn’t been done in 50 years. On December 12, 2019 the Final Rule interpreting “regular rate” was announced.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) employers are required to pay non-exempt workers time and one half the “regular rate” for every hour worked over 40. According to the regulations, the “regular rate” includes all remuneration paid to the employee except for certain payments specifically excluded under the FLSA. This would include wages paid by the hour, by salary, or by piecework and most bonuses, commissions, incentive pay, shift differentials, and on-call pay. Excluded payments, by definition, are premium payments for certain work (e.g. Sunday premium pay), discretionary bonuses, holiday gifts, and vacation pay.Continue Reading USDOL Issues Guidance on “Regular Rate” of Pay
Mass. AG’s Labor Day Report Gives Insight Into Wage and Hour Enforcement Priorities
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey released her fourth annual Labor Day Report this week. As in past years, the report summarizes the AGO’s Fair Labor Division’s enforcement activities over the past year, and provides insight into the office’s priorities and initiatives in the enforcement of the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws.Continue Reading Mass. AG’s Labor Day Report Gives Insight Into Wage and Hour Enforcement Priorities
“Earned Wages” Not The Equivalent of “Back Pay” Under Massachusetts Wage Act
The Supreme Judicial Court has just recently made it abundantly clear that for liability to hold under the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, §148, “[t]he work must have been actually performed and wage payments must be presently due to trigger the precise requirements and severe penalties” available under the Act. The case is Calixto v. Coughlin, 481 Mass. 157 (2018).
Continue Reading “Earned Wages” Not The Equivalent of “Back Pay” Under Massachusetts Wage Act
Department Of Labor Says That FMLA Leave Cannot Be Deferred
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an Opinion Letter in which it stated that an employer may not delay the designation of leave qualifying under the Family and Medical Leave Act, even if the affected employee would prefer not to take FMLA leave, and employers may not designate more than 12 weeks of leave as FMLA leave.
Continue Reading Department Of Labor Says That FMLA Leave Cannot Be Deferred