Mass-Peculiarities: An Employers Guide to Wage & Hour Law in the Bay State 2022 Edition

© 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. | 137 statute allows for individual liability for those having “management responsibility but no ownership stake in an enterprise.” 786 The SJC has held that a business may be liable for violating the Tip Statute even when the service workers in question are not actually its employees. 787 In DiFiore v. American Airlines, Inc. , American contracted with a vendor (G2 Secure Staff) to provide the airline with skycap personnel. 788 American was found liable for not paying skycaps the proceeds from a $2.00 per bag service charge that it charged to customers, even though American did not employ the skycaps. The court held that “a ‘service charge’ need not be charged by an employer, but may be imposed by any person or entity.” 789 The court reasoned that the purpose of the Tip Statute would be undercut if a business in the service industry, such as an airline or restaurant, could escape liability by entering into a contract with a third party, such as G2, under which the third party employs workers and shares service charges collected from customers with the service entity. 790 G. Penalties for Violations Employees who prevail on a claim under the Tip Statute are entitled to restitution of any tips or service charges that they should have received but did not, plus 12 percent annual interest. 791 Moreover, as discussed in depth in Section XVIII.G, employers that are found liable for violating the Tip Statute must pay the plaintiff-employee three times the actual damages proven in the case. 792 In addition to treble damages, the prevailing party in a Tip Statute suit may recover litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. 793 IX. POSTINGREQUIREMENTS Massachusetts employers must display posters informing employees of their rights under state and federal wage and hour laws. These include the posting requirements for general wage and hour law obligations, days of rest, for employment of minors, and for disabled workers who are paid special minimum wages. 794 786 Massachuset t s At torney General Advisory 2004/3, at 3. 787 DiFiore , 454 Mass. at 497. 788 Id . at 488. 789 Id . at 497. 790 Id. at 493-94. 791 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 152A(f). 792 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 150. 793 See, e.g., Wiedmann , 444 Mass. at 709 n.13 (grant ing at torneys’ fees and cost s). At torneys’ fees and cost s are discussed in depth in Sect ion XVIII. 794 Federal law requires addit ional post ings for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. 29 C.F.R. §§ 500.75(c) and (e); DOL Compliance Poster, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) English/Spanish Version (Apr. 1983), available at ht tp://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/mspaensp.pdf ( last visited Aug. 4, 2021). Posters are also required