Legal Question in Employment Law in Massachusetts

My husband works for a company whose pay period ends on a Tuesday and payday is on Friday. If you receive a paper check, you get paid on Friday. If you have direct deposit, your paycheck is not deposited until the following Monday or "... Tuesday at the latest". Is this legal?


Asked on 8/11/09, 10:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

William Harrington Law Office of William T. Harrington

The Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, s 148 requires payment within 6 days of the end of the pay period. In my opinion, the employer has to pay it by Monday. The question I have is, if the employer makes the deposit on Friday but the funds do not become available until Tuesday, is that a violation? I don't know the answer. Does you company work for a large company? Does his situation apply to a lot of other employees as well. If so, I would be interested in looking into the question. His damages are limited to the loss of money for one day every week. While his damages are minimal, if the company has been doing this and doing it with respect to a large number of people, then it may be worth bringing a claim on behalf of the employees. The statute mandates treble damages and attorneys fees. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].

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Answered on 8/16/09, 11:45 am


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