An employer cannot deduct from the wages of an employee in any factory, workshop, manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile establishment, or from the wages of a mechanic, workman or laborer, on account of the employee's coming late to work, a sum in excess of the proportionate wage which would have been earned during the time actually lost.
Employees who have had improper deductions from their wages can file an online complaint, choosing as the reasons for filing the complaint as "Deductions" with the Massachusetts Attorney General pursuant to M.G.L.c. 149, s. 150 and then receive from the Attorney General a "private right of action" letter, allowing an employee so aggrieved who prevails in court to be awarded treble damages, reasonable attorneys' fees and the cost of litigation. Such an action must be brought within three years of the violation. The three year limitation period is tolled, however, from the date that the employee or a similarly situated employee files a complaint with the Attorney General 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.