What Should I Do If I am Not Paid My Final Check on Time?
Your Rights if Your Final Paycheck is LateMassachusetts law takes late payment of any wages, including a final paycheck, very seriously.
If you are not timely paid your final wages, vacation time, and commissions, you have a right to bring a claim and recover three times the late or unpaid amount. The first step is to file a complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. This is so that you can receive a document called a "right to sue letter" from the AGO that gives you the right to bring a private civil suit. You should do this first, because it is a requirement for any later action. You should also consult with an employment lawyer about what you are entitled to and the best strategy for getting you that remedy. It could be immediately filing a civil suit, or it could be sending a demand letter to your former employer to try to reach a settlement before entering litigation. Learn more here about remedies for late payment of wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act. |
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Questions About an Employment Termination or Transition?
Our Solutions Roadmap is a quick and easy way to share the details of what you are facing and receive preliminary feedback from a member of our team. Use the button below to get started- it is 100% confidential and 100% free.
Meet Our Employment Lawyers
![Emily Smith-Lee Employment Lawyer](/uploads/4/2/9/3/42934673/published/lea-headshot_924.jpg)
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients on both the employee and employer side with severance and non compete review and negotiation, wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, and navigating the nuances of the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law.
![Rebecca Rogers employment attorney](/uploads/4/2/9/3/42934673/published/rebecca-rogers-2_503.jpg)
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped clients with independent contractor misclassification and wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, and review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements.
![Jenna Ordway Employment Attorney](/uploads/4/2/9/3/42934673/published/jenna-headshot2-cropped_665.jpg)
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna has helped clients with review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements, employee misclassification and wage and hour disputes, and advice to small business owners about employment law and other business matters.
![Eli Bresley employment attorney](/uploads/4/2/9/3/42934673/published/eli-website-cropped_515.jpg)
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients on the employee and employer side with all varieties of employment law issues, including independent contractor misclassification and wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements, and litigation in state and federal courts on employment related issues.
![Sharleen Tinnin employment attorney](/uploads/4/2/9/3/42934673/published/sharleen-tinnin_589.jpg)
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped clients with independent contractor misclassification and wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements, and litigation in state and federal courts on employment related issues.
How We Can Help
We can help you navigate these issues and get clarity on your rights and obligations when facing an employment termination. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
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Jenna Ordway
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