Given the outpouring of wage and hour cases in Massachusetts, it is no surprise that in 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an unprecedented number of decisions under the state's wage payment and related statutes. This post reviews a number of the SJC opinions, while saving decisions regarding the independent contractor statute (G.L. c.149, §148B) for another day. In general, employees rather than employers came out on top in these cases, reflecting the strong public policy in Massachusetts in favor of protecting an employee's earned wages.
In Cook v. Patient Edu, LLC, 465 Mass. 548, the Court ruled that the Wage Act imposed personal liability on managers and other officials of a limited liability company (LLC), despite the fact that the Wage Act makes no reference to LLCs but does specifically provide personal liability for the "president and treasurer of a corporation and any officers or agents having the management of such corporation." In reaching this conclusion, the Court ruled that the specific reference to corporate officers was not intended to...
