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. | 161 the employee was required to use by the staffing agency, work site employer, or person acting in either’s interest 955 The law also prohibits staffing agencies and work site employers from deducting any costs or fees from the wages of an employee without express written authorization from that employee. Under the law, a staffing agency or work site employer must furnish to an employee a copy of the signed authorization in a language that the employee can understand. 956 In addition, a staffing agency must reimburse a temporary employee’s transportation costs if it sends the employee to a work site but no job is available that day. 957 3. Additional Restrictions The Act places some additional restrictions on staffing agencies. Staffing agencies may not: • “[K]nowingly issue, distribute, circulate or provide any false, fraudulent, or misleading information, representation, promise, notice or advertisement to any applicant or employee” • Use any name that they have not registered with the DLS • Assign or place an employee by force, fraud, or for illegal purposes • Assign or place an employee “where the employment is in violation of state or federal laws governing minimum wage, child labor, compulsory school attendance, required licensure or certification, or at any location that is on strike or lockout without notifying the employee of this fact” • Refuse to return personal belongings or fees or charges in excess of what is allowed under the statute to an employee 958 4. Enforcement and Penalties The DLS interprets the law , 959 and the Office of the Attorney General is responsible for enforcing it. 960 Violations of the law are subject to criminal and civil sanctions, including criminal penalties 955 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 159C. In Palacio v. Job Done, LLC , 35 Mass. L. Rpt r. 145, 2018 WL 3431698 (Mass. Super. Ct . June 14, 2018), the court found that under the statute, “where workers are joint ly employed by a staffing agency and a work site employer, because they simultaneously did work for and were subject to the direct ion and cont rol of both, the two joint employers will be joint ly liable for any unlawful fee charged by either of them to t ransport workers to or from the designatedwork site.” Id . at *2. 956 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 159C. 957 Id. 958 Id . 959 Id . 960 M.G.L. ch. 149, §§ 27C(b)(1), 159C.