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THE MASSACHUSETTS UNFAIR WAGE PAYMENT ACT
What is the Massachusetts Unfair Wage Payment Act?
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 149, section 148 mandates the timing of payment
of wages in Massachusetts.
What are the basic rules regarding payment of wages under this statute?
- Employees must be paid weekly or bi-weekly.
- Employees must be paid within six days of the termination of the pay period during
which the wages were earned if the employee worked for five or six days in a calendar
week; otherwise the employees must be paid within seven days of the termination of the
pay period.
- Employees leaving their employment must be paid in full on the following regular pay
day or, if none, on the following Saturday.
- Employees discharged from employment must be paid in full on the day of their discharge
(with a possible exception if the location is Boston).
- There are several discrete exceptions under the statute, such as for employees of
a hospital which is supported in part by contributions from the state or local governments.
- Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149, section 148A states that an employee may not
be fired in retaliation for seeking to enforce his or her rights under the wage statute.
How is this statute enforced?
- Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws 149, s. 150, the Attorney General's office
may enforce the statute and seek penalties including fines of up to $25,000.00 and imprisonment.
- A fairly recent amendment to the statute also allows individual employees to bring
a civil action against their employer for violation of the statute. The employees may
seek treble damages and attorneys fees. This is the source of the recent spate of litigation
regarding the statute.
Who can be sued for violation of the statute?
- The employer, which under this statute includes the president and treasurer of a corporation
and any officers or agents having the management of a corporation. (It is so far undetermined
whether these officers or agents can be sued for retaliatory firing of an employee.)
Special issues regarding payment of commissions
- The official title of the statute includes payment of commissions.
- The statute states that it "shall apply, 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…"
- However, some trial courts have not interpreted this language according to its plain
meaning. They have stated that the statute protects employees earning small commissions
involving multiple sales but not larger commissions based on fewer sales. They have
also stated that the statute does not protect commissions triggered by contingencies,
or highly compensated employees. No Massachusetts appellate court has ruled on these
issues.
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