170 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. © 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP violation or violations, the monetary extent of the alleged violations, and the total monetary amount of the public contract or payroll involved.”1034 However, the Attorney General may not be empowered to issue civil citations for violations of the meal break statute involving adult workers as opposed to minors. In 2023, an Administrative Law Judge held that the Attorney General was limited to criminal prosecution for such violations, thereby dismissing two civil citations consisting of about $1.5 million in fines.1035 The Fair Labor Division has sought judicial review of that decision in Massachusetts Superior Court. As noted previously, employers that engage in retaliation are subject to the criminal and civil penalties listed here, and they must pay additional damages of between one and two months’ wages, as well as reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.1036 Massachusetts law imposes additional penalties for employers with government contracts or subcontracts that are criminally convicted of violating wage and hour laws. The Commonwealth bars these employers from entering into government contracts for any work related to the construction of public buildings or other public works for a specified period of time.1037 Employers that commit willful violations are barred for five years from the date of conviction.1038 Employers that commit non-willful violations are barred for six months from the date of conviction for a first offense or three years from the date of conviction for a subsequent offense.1039 Public contractors and their affiliates similarly are automatically debarred for two years upon receipt of three civil citations that include a finding of intent on three occasions within a three-year period.1040 Further, a public contractor or subcontractor will be barred from contracting with the Commonwealth or from performing any work under an existing contract if the contractor fails to comply with a civil citation or order.1041 E. The Attorney General’s Means of Enforcement When an employer receives a civil citation or order from the Attorney General, the employer then has twenty-one days to comply.1042 The employer may appeal to the Massachusetts Division of Administrative Law Appeals within ten days and will then receive a hearing at which it must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the Attorney General erred in issuing the citation 1034 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(b)(2). 1035 Division of Administrative Law Appeals, Docket Nos. LB-22-0039 & LB-22-0040. 1036 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 19. 1037 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(a)(3). 1038 Id. 1039 Id. 1040 Id. 1041 Id. 1042 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(b)(6) (Attorney General may deliver citations and orders by mail or by hand delivery).
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