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

168 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. © 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP statutory provision for which there is no private right of action. 1003 The following table lists the statutes of limitations for those wage and hour violations that include a private right of action in Massachusetts. Statutes of Limitations in Massachusetts Offense with a Private Right of Action Statute of Limitations Overtime pay violations (M.G.L. ch. 151, § 1A) Minimum wage violations (M.G.L. ch. 151, § 1) For claims arising prior to Nov. 18, 2014: 2 years For claims arising on or after Nov. 18, 2014: 3 years 1004 Nonpayment of wages (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148) Tip Statute violations (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 152A) Independent Contractor Statute violations (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148B) Violation of Earned Sick Time Law (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148C) Improper expenditure of withholdings (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 150C) Improper deductions for tardiness or transportation services (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 152) Retaliation (M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148A) 3 years 1005 A. Procedure for Filing a Complaint with the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General If an employee has a claim for unpaid wages—including nonpayment of wages, earned vacation wages, tips, or meal breaks—an employee may file a complaint with the Fair Labor Division of the Attorney General’s Office. 1006 Employees complaining of overtime or minimum wage violations may proceed directly to Superior Court because they are not required to file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General. 1003 See Tortolano v. Lemuel Shattuck Hosp. , 93 Mass. App. Ct . 773, 780-81 (2018) (explaining that the Office of the At torney General “was without power to confer . . .a private right of act ion . . .[or] create an alternat ive enforcement mechanism” through a right -to-sue let ter). 1004 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 20A. In 2012, the SJC held that employees can recover unpaid overt ime beyond the two-year statute of limitat ions under the nonpayment of wages statute, but recovery was limited to st raight -t ime pay. See Crocker v. Townsend Oil Co., 464 Mass. 1, 3 (2012). In response to that decision, in 2014, the statute of limitations for overtime claims was extended to three years. See An Act Restoring the Minimum Wage and Providing Unemployment Insurance Reforms , Chapter 144 of the Act s of 2014. 1005 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 150. 1006 Office of the Massachuset t s At torney General, File a Workplace Complaint , available a t ht tps://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a- workplace-complaint (last visited Sept . 28, 2021).