Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XXI Chapter 149
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 150 (2026)

Complaint for violation of certain sections; defenses; payment after complaint; assignments; loan of wages to employer; civil action

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 150. The attorney general may make complaint or seek indictment against any person for a violation of section 148. On the trial no defence for failure to pay as required, other than the attachment of such wages by trustee process or a valid assignment thereof or a valid set-off against the same, or the absence of the employee from his regular place of labor at the time of payment, or an actual tender to such employee at the time of payment of the wages so earned by him, shall be valid. The defendant shall not set up as a defence a payment of wages after the bringing of the complaint. An assignment of future wages payable weekly under section one hundred and forty-eight shall not be valid if made to the person from whom such wages are to become due or to any person on his behalf, or if made or procured to be made to another person for the purpose of relieving the employer from the obligation to pay weekly. A loan made by an employee to his employer of wages which are payable weekly under section one hundred and forty-eight, whether made directly to the employer or to another person or persons on his behalf, shall not be valid as a defense on the trial of a complaint for failure to pay such wages weekly, unless such loan shall have been made with the approval of the attorney general.

An employee claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of sections 33E, 52E, 148, 148A, 148B, 148C, 150C, 152, 152A, 159C or 190 or section 19 of chapter 151 may, 90 days after the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner if the attorney general assents in writing, and within 3 years after the violation, institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly situated, a civil action for injunctive relief, for any damages incurred, and for any lost wages and other benefits; provided, however, that the 3 year limitation period shall be tolled from the date that the employee or a similarly situated employee files a complaint with the attorney general alleging a violation of any of these sections until the date that the attorney general issues a letter authorizing a private right of action or the date that an enforcement action by the attorney general becomes final. An employee so aggrieved who prevails in such an action shall be awarded treble damages, as liquidated damages, for any lost wages and other benefits and shall also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 225 cases (44 in the last 5 years), 1988–2026 · leading case: Lawless v. Steward Health Care Sys., LLC, 894 F.3d 9 (1st Cir. 2018).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Lawless v. Steward Health Care Sys., LLC, 894 F.3d 9 (1st Cir. 2018). · cites it 5× “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 150 . This timely appeal ensued.”
Somers v. Converged Access, Inc., 911 N.E.2d 739 (Mass. 2009). · cites it 8× “236, § 10 (wage act), and G. L. c. 149, § 150, as amended through St.”
Fernandes v. Attleboro Hous. Auth., 20 N.E.3d 229 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 9× “Next, with respect to Fernandes’s motion for reinstatement, the judge was unpersuaded that G. L. c. 149, § 150, authorized such a remedy for retaliatory conduct in the absence of clear statutory language to that effect.”
George v. Nat'l Water Main Cleaning Co., 77 N.E.3d 858 (Mass. 2017). · cites it 7× “231, § 6B or 6C,] available under Massachusetts law when liquidated (treble) damages are awarded pursuant to [G. L. c. 149, § 150]?” In answer to the question, we declare that, under Massachusetts law, statutory prejudgment interest pursuant to G.”
Depianti v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, Inc., 465 Mass. 607 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 6× “] Whether a plaintiff’s failure to exhaust administrative remedies pursuant to [G. L. c. 149, § 150,] by filing a complaint with the Attorney General deprives a court of jurisdiction to consider the plaintiff’s claims under [G.”
Melia v. Zenhire, Inc., 967 N.E.2d 580 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 5× “An employee may also file a complaint with the Attorney General; if the Attorney General grants leave or fails to commence an action within ninety days, the employee may “institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly…”
Awuah v. Coverall North Am., Inc., 460 Mass. 484 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 6× “However, the judge also concluded that Coverall was statutorily mandated as the employer to provide and pay for workers’ compensation insurance; to the extent Graffeo paid for insurance premiums that Coverall was required to pay, Graffeo was injured by his misclassification and…”
Lipsitt v. Plaud, 994 N.E.2d 777 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 5× “Further, because Wage Act claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, G. L. c. 149, § 150, the judge ruled that Lipsitt’s potential recovery would be limited to wages earned but unpaid during the three-year period preceding the filing of the suit.”
Travers v. Flight Servs. & Sys., Inc., 808 F.3d 525 (1st Cir. 2015). · cites it 8× “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 150 ; id. ch. 231, § 6B.”
Killeen v. Westban Hotel Venture, LP, 872 N.E.2d 731 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007). · cites it 6× “77 in costs and attorney’s fees pursuant to G. L. c. 149, § 150. On this appeal, the defendant challenges the judge’s decision to treble the damages and to award costs and attorney’s fees.”
Smith v. EMC Corp., 393 F.3d 590 (5th Cir. 2004). · cites it 2× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 150 (2004). As previously discussed, Rule 15(a) “evinces a bias in favor of granting leave to amend.”
Dixon v. City of Malden, 984 N.E.2d 261 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 7× “In his memorandum and order on the plaintiff’s motion, the judge stated, among other things, that the plaintiff’s salary continuation “more than mitigated [his] damages for unpaid vacation”; that the “any damages incurred” clause in G. L. c. 149, § 150, did not allow the…”
Show all 225 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.