Darshana Indira Quoted as Resource on Wage Act

Employment lawyer, Darshana Indira, was quoted extensively in a recent Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article entitled, “Employee gets green light in suit over regularly ‘late’ pay.” Darshana discusses what she sees as employer liabilities in connection with the Wage Act.

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reported:

Darshana Indira, a management-side employment attorney in Boston, said Turgut reinforces the potential exposure employers face under the Wage Act. “What I’m seeing over and over again in Wage Act cases is that any delay in paying wages — even if by a single day — is likely going to cause significant liability for employers,” Indira said.

“Right now, companies need to be thinking about how they make compliance a top priority and, when in doubt, erring on the side of providing payment to employees. And if you have the numbers available, pay by the sixth day.”

Indira pointed to the Supreme Judicial Court’s 2022 decision in Reuter v. City of Methuen as a wakeup call for employers. In Methuen, the plaintiff sued her former employer for violating the Wage Act by failing to pay her accrued vacation time on the date of her termination. The SJC held that the proper measure of damages for late payment under the Wage Act is treble damages. “It’s clear that the courts are going to interpret the statute in a way that provides the most possible protection for workers,” Indira said.

She added that, for employers, paying one day earlier is going to be a much more cost-effective option than waiting an extra day. That said, Indira agreed that the statutory language at issue in Turgut is ambiguous, particularly with respect to being “employed” versus “working.”

“In terms of the seven-day rule applying, does it only apply to hourly employees who physically work all seven days [of the week]?” Indira asked. “Does it apply to on-call workers? Would it apply to a remote worker who performs a minor task one day? I think there are going to be other cases that come up that will dig into these ambiguities.”

And given that Reuter was a termination case, Indira said Turgut is going to force employers to look more closely at their payment systems for active employees. “I’m going to have to speak with my clients to go through and understand exactly what employees are getting paid on what schedule,” she said. “A case like this impacts a large portion of the work force, so the damages that can be incurred are going to be much greater.”