The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) recently foreclosed on a theory of recovery sought by plaintiffs in non-payment of wages cases: to avail themselves of the Massachusetts Wage Act’s treble damages provision for non-payment of overtime claims brought exclusively under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). In Devaney v. Zucchini Gold, LLC, the plaintiffs were restaurant workers routinely working in excess of 40 hours per week whose employer failed to pay the workers overtime wages required by the FLSA. SJC-13176 (Wendlandt, J. April 14, 2022).
The plaintiffs brought suit against their employer in September 2015 alleging violations of the FLSA for failure to pay overtime wages, violations of the Massachusetts Wage Act (M.G.L. c. 149, § 148) for failure to pay the FLSA overtime wages in a timely manner, and violations of the Federal and State minimum wage laws. Because the state overtime law, M.G.L. c. 151, § 1A, specifically exempts restaurant workers like the plaintiffs, they did not pursue a claim under that state law provision. Plaintiffs prevailed at summary judgment on their FLSA overtime and Massachusetts Wage Act claims. Following a trial solely on the issue of damages, Plaintiffs were each awarded one-and-one half times their regular rates of pay, which the judge then trebled (and awarded costs and attorney’s fees) pursuant to the Massachusetts Wage Act.
The employer appealed, arguing that the trial judge erred in permitting the...
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