Who Enforces the Overtime Laws in Massachusetts?
There are basically two ways the overtime laws are enforced in Massachusetts.
The first is the Massachusetts Attorney General, who has the authority to investigate and bring a complaint against an employer who is non-compliant with overtime laws. This is usually initiated by an employee making a complaint, but their information can come from other sources as well. The second is by far the more common, which is a private lawsuit by an employee who believes they should have been paid overtime. These claims can be brought in either state court or federal court. If successful, the employee will be entitled to recover (i) the unpaid overtime; (ii) either two or three times that amount, depending on if the claim is under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") or the Massachusetts overtime statute; and (iii) their reasonable costs in pursuing the claim, including attorneys' fees. Learn more here about overtime under Massachusetts and federal law. |
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