BOSTON — More than $11.8 million in restitution and penalties were issued against employers across the state for various wage thefts and worker exploitation activities that occurred in fiscal year 2022, according to a report issued by the state Attorney General’s office on Monday.
The seventh annual Labor Day report, which covers activities in the Fair Labor Division from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, shows that employers were ordered to pay $7.5 million in restitution to employees and $4.2 million in penalties to the state’s General Fund. At least 19,300 workers benefited from the enforcement actions.
Attorney General Maura Healey, who Tuesday is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor in the state primary, said in a statement that Labor Day honors the resiliency of Massachusetts workers who have persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One of my top priorities is ensuring that workers from every industry are paid the wages they are entitled to and that they have access to the hard-fought workplace rights that our laws provide,” Healey said. “We will continue to advocate for the rights of workers at the state and national level.”
Many violations associated with businesses in Hampshire County communities and in Holyoke related to the state law surrounding meal breaks, where stores didn’t provide workers with at least one 30-minute meal break per six hours of work.
For instance, Family Dollar, which has stores in Easthampton, Belchertown, Holyoke and Greenfield, was cited $1.5 million in penalties for more than 3,900 violations after an investigation based on multiple complaints revealed that 620 employees were not given proper meal breaks. In both 2018 and 2019, investigators found that the company, which has 100 stores in the state, cut payroll hours, leaving stores under-staffed, and meaning that employees were unable to leave the stores or take meal breaks.
Similarly, Lane Bryant, which has one of its 12 Massachusetts stores at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, paid over $40,000 in restitution and $10,000 in penalties for failing to provide meal breaks to employees. Five Below, also at Holyoke Mall, paid $55,640 in damages to 130 employees at its stores in Massachusetts who were not permitted to take meal breaks.
The report also outlines enforcement where much more significant penalties were levied. Rochester Bitumimous Products, Inc. of Wareham was issued 25 citations totaling $1.2 million in restitution and penalties for prevailing wage violations that impacted 22 employees, and for failure to submit certified payroll records. That investigation began following paving work in Boston, and showed that workers were underpaid by approximately $30 per hour for their work on public works projects in the city.
In addition to the enforcement, the Fair Labor Division also raised awareness about workforce participation goals for both women and workers of color on state and state-assisted construction projects. Working with the University of Massachusetts Building Authority and the Office of the Inspector General, the office trained more than 500 public purchasing and industry representatives about state laws requiring a diverse workforce on those projects.
The Fair Labor Division advocated on behalf of workers in the hospitality industry, where more than 1,500 workers benefited from over $951,000 in penalties and restitution. One case involved a Subway restaurant owner who agreed to pay $104,000 for failing to pay minimum wage, failing to pay employees on time, and for various violations of the state’s Earned Sick Time, paystub, record keeping, and child labor laws.
Attorneys, investigators, intake and support staff make up the Fair Labor Division, with more than 40% of these employees speaking at least one other language, including Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Haitian Creole and Vietnamese. Besides enforcing state laws, the division protects employees from exploitation and wage theft through strong partnerships and community education.
Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in their workplace can call the office’s Fair Labor Hotline at 617-727-3465. More information about the state’s wage and hour laws is also available in multiple languages at www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
