© 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. | 171 or order.1043 If the hearing officer affirms the citation or order, the employer must either comply within thirty days or appeal to the Superior Court.1044 If the employer does not pursue an appeal but also fails to comply with the citation or order in a timely manner, the Attorney General may file criminal charges against the company or certain individuals, or both.1045 The Attorney General may also add interest at a rate of 18 percent per annum and place a tax lien on the employer’s real estate and personal property.1046 The tax lien takes effect on the day after the payment was due.1047 To remove a tax lien, an employer must pay the full amount of the penalty, plus interest, to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.1048 XIV. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT BY PRIVATE LITIGANTS Where there is a private right of action, the most common enforcement mechanism is a civil action brought by the aggrieved employee. The employee may bring the action on their own behalf, as well as others similarly situated.1049 The plaintiff may seek injunctive relief and to recover any damages incurred, including any lost wages and other benefits.1050 Such lost wages and other benefits are automatically trebled.1051 A. Who is a Proper Plaintiff? Because treble damages are automatic, there is an increasing trend of out-of-state workers attempting to avail themselves of Massachusetts law. In Dow v. Casale, the Appeals Court held that a Florida resident could sue his Massachusetts-based employer under the Wage Act.1052 The court rejected the defendant’s position that the statute could not be extended to a non-resident who primarily performed services outside of the Commonwealth, yet also rejected the plaintiff’s position that the defendant’s residency in Massachusetts was sufficient for the statute to apply.1053 Instead, the Appeals Court applied a conflict-of-laws analysis to conclude that Massachusetts had the most substantial relationship to the parties and the employment relationship.1054 1043 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(b)(4). 1044 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(b)(4) and (5). 1045 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(b)(6). 1046 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 27C(b)(7). 1047 Id. 1048 Office of Massachusetts Attorney General, Enforcement Authority, available at https://www.mass.gov/servicedetails/enforcement-authority (last visited Mar. 6, 2025). 1049 M.G.L. Ch. 149, § 150. 1050 Id. 1051 Id. 1052 83 Mass. App. Ct. at 756-57. 1053 Id. at 754-55. 1054 Id. at 757.
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