Getting Paid
G.L. c. 149, § 148 — paid in full the day of a firing, and treble damages for wages withheld
In Massachusetts, employees are paid weekly or bi-weekly, within six days after the end of the pay period for someone working five or six days a week, or within seven days for someone working seven days a week.
Fired: paid in full that day. An employee who is discharged is paid in full on the day of the discharge. An employee who leaves is paid in full on the next regular payday, or the following Saturday if there is no regular payday.
Three times the lost wages. An employee may bring a civil action 90 days after filing a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner with the attorney general's written assent, and within 3 years after the violation. An employee who wins is awarded treble damages for lost wages and benefits, as liquidated damages, plus the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.
Paying the wages after a complaint has been brought is not a defense to it.
Sources for this section (2)
- G.L. c. 149, § 148 — Payment of wages
- G.L. c. 149, § 150 — Complaints and treble damages for unpaid wages
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Massachusetts attorney.