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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 514 FILED ON: 1/9/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2163 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Jeffrey N. Roy |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act clarifying the process for paying the wages of dismissed employees. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Jeffrey N. Roy10th Norfolk1/9/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 514 FILED ON: 1/9/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2163 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Roy of Franklin, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2163) of Jeffrey |
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| 19 | 19 | | N. Roy relative to clarifying the process for paying the wages of dismissed employees. Labor |
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| 20 | 20 | | and Workforce Development. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 1944 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act clarifying the process for paying the wages of dismissed employees. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 150 of chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2inserting after the word “him”, in the second sentence, the following:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 “or the payment of demanded wages pursuant to section 204 of this chapter,” |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 SECTION 2. Chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5section 203 the following section:- |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6 Section 204. Right to Cure |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7 (a) After termination of a person’s employment, claims that are brought to recover unpaid |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8employment-based compensation resulting from a violation of sections 33E, 52E, 148, 148A, |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9148B, 148C, 150C, 152, 152A, 159C or 190 or section 19 of chapter 15 and that seek treble 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10damages under section 150 of chapter 149 shall be preceded by a written demand for relief to the |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11employer specifying those sums due and the reasons therefor. Upon receipt of such a demand for |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12relief, the employer shall have fifteen business days to cure any asserted deficiency by making |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13payment in full to the aggrieved claimant. The employer shall have no liability for attorneys’ fees |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14or for treble damages under section 150 of chapter 149 should the employer cure the violation by |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15paying, within fifteen days of receiving the written demand, any deficiency in such |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16compensation payments: (i) that are indisputably due; or (ii) upon a showing that the violation |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17was the result of a good faith miscalculation, error or reliance on erroneous information from a |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18third party. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19 (b) In any action that is brought to recover unpaid employment-based compensation |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20resulting from a violation of sections 33E, 52E, 148, 148A, 148B, 148C, 150C, 152, 152A, 159C |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21or 190 or section 19 of chapter 151 and that seeks treble damages under section 150 of chapter |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22149, if the employer shows to the satisfaction of the court that the employer’s act or omission |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23giving rise to such action was in good faith, and that the employer had reasonable grounds for |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24believing that its act or omission was not a violation of such laws, the court may, in its sound |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25discretion, award no statutory or treble damages. |
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