Richardson & Cumbo, LLP

06/05/2024

Richardson & Cumbo, LLP is investigating allegations that employees with the job title of “Sales Manager” employed by any Quirk car dealership in Massachusetts (operating under the Quirk Auto Dealers umbrella) were not paid overtime wages for working over 40 hours per week. If these allegations are true, the Quirk car dealerships and Quirk Auto Dealers may have violated the Massachusetts Wage Act and any employee that worked as a Sales Manager may be entitled to recover these unpaid overtime wages as compensation. This investigation applies to Sales Managers that worked at any Quirk car dealership in Massachusetts operating under the Quirk Auto Dealers umbrella from March 2021 to present. If you worked as a Sales Manager at a Quirk car dealership in Massachusetts for any length of time between March 2021 and now, please email [email protected] or call (617)217-2779 for a free consultation concerning this investigation.

Richardson & Cumbo, LLP is a full-service, firm meeting clients' needs.

01/11/2023

When is a “manager” not really a “manager”? Strap in for a short answer that later provides a ton of examples.

According to “Too Many Managers: The Strategic Use of Titles to Avoid Overtime Payments” (https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w30826/w30826.pdf) – a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research – the answer is: when unscrupulous employers give employees misleading job titles and meet a salary threshold in an attempt to avoid paying them overtime.

The study gives examples of job titles with blurry lines between non-managerial titles and managerial titles, but whose job duties are presumably the same:

Receptionist (Non-Managerial Title) v. Front Desk Manager (Managerial Title)
Front Desk Clerk (Non-Managerial Title) v. Director of First Impressions (Managerial Title)
Reservation Clerk (Non-Managerial Title) v. Lead Reservationist (Managerial Title)
Host/Hostess (Non-Managerial Title) v. Guest Experience Leader (Managerial Title)
Carpet Cleaner (Non-Managerial Title v. Carpet Shampoo Manager (Managerial Title)
Asset Protection Specialist (Non-Managerial Title) v. Asset Protection Coordinator (Managerial Title)
Barber (Non-Managerial Title) v. Grooming Manager (Managerial Title)
Food Cart/Coffee Attendant (Non-Managerial Title) v. Food Cart/Coffee Manager (Managerial Title)

Misclassification of Managerial Titled employees as exempt from overtime is prevalent in the following industries: food service and drinking places; building material and garden equipment/supply dealers; retail, general merchandisers; food and beverage stores; insurance carriers; repair and maintenance; health and personal care stores; professional, scientific, and technical services; amusement, gambling, and recreation; credit intermediation; and merchant wholesalers.

It is likely that employees with Managerial Titles are being deprived of overtime wages under federal and state wage laws because their job duties are that of Non-Managerial employees.

Here are some recent cases where employers are alleged to have failed to pay overtime to employees with Managerial Titles:

Covelli Enterprises, the country’s largest Panera Bread franchisee, settled a class action case brought by its Assistant Managers for $4.6 million where the Assistant Managers alleged they were not paid overtime because the were wrongly classified as exempt from overtime protections.

Department Managers working for Publix Super Markets, Inc. brought a collective action alleging they were misclassified as exempt from overtime because of their Managerial Titles. The Department Managers alleged they should have been paid overtime because their job duties did not include the type of executive responsibilities that typically accompany overtime-exempt jobs, including tasks that require the exercise of meaningful judgment and discretion, but instead consisted of manual tasks typically reserved for non-overtime exempt employees, such as preparing and stocking food, servicing customers, and cleaning. This case is still pending.

JPMorgan settled a class action case brought by its Assistant Branch Managers for $16.7 million where the Assistant Branch Managers alleged they were owed overtime because they had no management duties even though they were classified by JPMorgan as exempt from overtime.

Facebook has been sued by its Client Solutions Managers because they allege it deliberately misclassified them as managers in order to avoid paying overtime.

Bojangles’ was sued by its Assistant Managers for failing to pay overtime. The Assistant Managers allege they were not actually managers and instead spent most of their time cleaning, taking orders, serving customers, and preparing, cooking, and packaging food.

Avis Budget Car Rental LLC settled a class action brought by its Shift Managers and Operations Managers for $7.8 million. The Shift Managers and Operations Managers alleged they were wrongfully classified as exempt from overtime when, in fact, they should have been paid overtime.

OfficeMax, Inc. settled a class action brought by its Assistant Managers for $3.5 million where the Assistant Managers claimed that OfficeMax failed to pay overtime. According to the Assistant Managers, their job duties did not include managerial duties, but instead included work like customer service, stocking shelves, down-stocking, operating cash registers, unloading trucks, selling merchandise, setting up displays, counting inventory, and cleaning the store.

Verizon Communications Inc. was sued by its Logistics Workers who allege Verizon misclassifies them as supervisors to avoid paying overtime. The plaintiff in this case has never overseen anyone, but himself.

Lowe’s settled a class action with its Human Resource Managers for $9.5 million where the Human Resource Managers alleged Lowe’s misclassified them as exempt from overtime. Though the Human Resources Managers had the word manager in their job title, they lacked authority to fire or hire, promote, discipline, or give raises to workers.

Walmart agreed to pay $4.83 million in back wages and damages to Vision Center Managers and Asset Protection Coordinators it had illegally denied overtime as a result of a Department of Labor investigation.

Staples settled class action lawsuits brought by its Assistant Store Managers for $42 million where the Assistant Store Managers alleged they were misclassified as exempt from overtime.

If you have a Managerial Title, but think you should be entitled to overtime based on your actual job duties, contact the attorneys at Richardson & Cumbo, LLP for a FREE consultation.

Phone: (617)217-2779
Email: [email protected]

11/16/2022

I know – short notice – but Jose Abreu Duran is hosting an at tonight at 6:00 p.m. about the Basics of for . If you’re interested, you can register to attend the event here: https://roadscg.com/revere/seminar-banking-for-small-business-owner/?fbclid=PAAaYHW24vmvqrO6J9jOWCjcyuxWY3i0R56H2tQX8bBF26TbeTP65qZUiBzuY

Get started with our free banking seminar. We will be covering the basics of banking for small business and you will come away with practical tips that you

11/09/2022

Looking to honor on this upcoming ? City of Somerville will be hosting “The Moving Wall” – a half-sized replica of the in Washington, D.C. – at the Mass General Brigham Great Lawn at Assembly Row (399 Revolution Drive) starting on November 10, 2022 until November 14, 2022.

In addition hosting The Moving Wall, the City of Somerville will be hosting four events at the Mass General Brigham Great Lawn at Assembly Row as follows:

Gold Star Families Opening Ceremony – November 10th at 4:00 p.m.;
Veterans Day Ceremony – November 11th at 11:00 a.m.;
Vietnam Veterans Pinning Ceremony – November 12th at 4:00 p.m.; and
Closing Ceremony – November 13th at 4:00 p.m.

You can learn more about The Moving Wall here: https://www.somervillema.gov/events/2022/11/09/moving-wall-vietnam-veterans-memorial

H/T to Don and Bob for letting us know about these amazing events!

Somerville has been announced as a host city on this year’s nationwide tour of The Moving Wall, a half-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Moving Wall has been traveling to cities and towns across the country for nearly forty years to give those who can’t get t...

11/09/2022

Are you a on the verge of launching your ? Do you have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, but lack the knowledge to make it happen? Have you launched a business recently and need help in organizing its operational and strategic aspects? If so, this is for you!

Join ALPFA on November 9, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for an panel about building your team of trusted for your business. During this conversation, you will learn which professional advisors to engage, what questions to ask when vetting them, and how to maximize these interactions. The panel features Latinx professional advisors that have experience helping entrepreneurs launching and building their businesses.

Register for this free event here:

Learn how to build your team of trusted advisors from professionals who have been there before.

11/03/2022

Caraballo Accounting, Caraballo Professional Development, Eastern Bank, and Toast are holding a virtual workshop on November 7, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for to empower them with tools for success. Learn about organizing , , , and tools for easy and complete operation of your or . You can register for this free virtual workshop at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/recursos-para-restaurantes-latinos-workshop-virtual-tickets-445536019227@

Empoderando a los Dueños de Restaurantes Latinos, Con Las Herramientas Necesarias Para Lograr Sus Objetivos.

08/17/2022

🚨🚨PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT ALERT🚨🚨
Richardson & Cumbo, LLP is pleased to announce that a proposed in Merckel, et al. v. Metrowest Subaru, LLC, et al. pending in Middlesex County Superior Court has been preliminary approved by the Court. Richardson & Cumbo, LLP represents the named Plaintiffs and the settlement class members.

The proposed settlement is for unpaid and and impacts (i) and (ii) who worked at Metrowest Subaru in at any time from October 28, 2017 to June 1, 2019.

This is a “one-shot” and not a “claims-made” settlement - this means that the class notice and settlement checks will each only be mailed out once.

If you were a salesperson and/or finance manager who worked at Metrowest Subaru at any time from October 28, 2018 to June 1, 2019, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that Richardson & Cumbo, LLP has your CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS. You can either call Edward Cumbo at (617)217-2779 or email [email protected] to provide Richardson & Cumbo, LLP with your current mailing address.

04/05/2022

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Late Wage Payments Are Lost Wages Subject to Treble (Triple) Damages

On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued its opinion in Reuter v. City of Methuen, SJC-13121. In Reuter, the Defendant City of Methuen (“City”) terminated the employment of Plaintiff Beth Reuter (“Ms. Reuter”), but did not pay Ms. Reuter her accrued vacation pay in the amount of $8,952.15 on the date of her termination. Three weeks later, the City paid Ms. Reuter her accrued vacation pay. After Ms. Reuter engaged an attorney, the City paid her an additional $185.42, which represented interest that accrued on the late payment of the vacation pay. Thereafter, Ms. Reuter filed a lawsuit for the City’s late payment of accrued vacation pay and argued that she was owed liquidated (i.e., triple) damages on the late paid accrued vacation pay - $17,904.30 (i.e., ((3 x $8,952.15) - $8,952.15). Ms. Reuter’s case went to trial and the judge ruled that she was not entitled to triple damages. Stated differently, the judge ruled that Ms. Reuter was not entitled to triple damages because she was paid her accrued vacation pay, albeit late. Ms. Reuter appealed the judge’s decision.

The SJC agreed with Ms. Reuter and held that “‘lost wages’ encompass all late payments under the Wage Act (emphasis added).” Reuter at 11.

What does this mean for employees and employers? If an employer does not pay an employee all wages when the wages are due, the employer is liable to the employee for three times the amount of the employee’s wages (and interest on the lost wages and attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with and costs of litigation) even if the wages are paid to the employee late. Depending on how the late payment is described, the employer may be able to “set-off” (i.e., subtract) the late payment from the triple damages, but the employee is still entitled to recover triple damages minus the set-off (and interest on the lost wages and attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with and costs of litigation).

So what are wages? Wages include regular salary pay, regular hourly pay, earned commissions, earned vacation time, earned holiday pay, and other earned time, such as earned paid time off.

So when are wages due? For employees who are actively employed, all wages are due on the date of their regular pay day and, if they are paid commissions, when the commissions are definitely determined and due and payable as typically defined in a commission schedule agreement between the employee and employer. For employees who are terminated, all wages, including commissions, must be paid on the date of their termination. For those employees who resign, all wages, including commissions, must be paid on the next regular pay day following their resignation.

Richardson & Cumbo, LLP routinely handles lawsuits concerning nonpayment and/or late payment of wages to employees. If you are an employee in Massachusetts who was not paid all wages on the date the wages were due in the last three years, please feel free to contact the attorneys at Richardson & Cumbo, LLP for a free consultation.

03/20/2022

Richardson & Cumbo, LLP is pleased to announce that one of its active cases received a writeup on ClassAction(dot)org. This putative concerns claims brought on behalf of against their and its officers and directors for their failure to provide proper notice of a or under the , failure to pay all due and owing on the dates of their termination under the , and of assets from the employer to its officers and directors under the . You can read more about the here:

A lawsuit alleges the operator of two Needham, Massachusetts car dealerships failed to provide workers at least 60 days’ notice before a mass layoff last year.

03/15/2022

Do you have a or background? Matthew Naffah and his team at Isovera are looking for to fill roles. Message the firm and we’d be happy to connect you with Matt.

02/09/2022

Know a homeowner living in or ? Stewart Painting is offering painting services at no cost to one lucky homeowner. Nominate a deserving Veteran here: https://www.stewartpaint.com/stewart-paints-it-forward/. H/T to Bob Notch for letting the Firm know about this amazing offer.

Our Paint It Forward mission is to find a deserving homeowner who could benefit from our painting services, supplied at no cost.

02/08/2022

Following up to our November 11, 2021 post, a fundraiser for Alex Palko in connection with his search for a kidney donor and its associated costs is being held on Sunday, February 20th at 2:00 p.m. at Alba Restaurant in Quincy, MA. Donations can be made through MAAS BESA here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/947616196150301/