Private Plaintiffs Take Charge in Massachusetts Wage Theft Suits

Massachusetts businesses that improperly pay their workers’ wages are facing more and more private lawsuits, resulting in steeper penalties than they would face from enforcement by the attorney general, employment lawyers say.

Since the attorney general’s office can’t pursue the thousands of wage and hour complaints it receives each year—a number that has increased over the past decade—workers’ rights attorneys have stepped in to bridge part of that gap.

“It’s warfare out there,” said Barry Miller, a Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner who represents employers. Increasing enforcement through private litigation is creating ...