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On Dec. 28, 2018, in Calixto v. Coughlin, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) issued a unanimous opinion in favor of Greenberg Traurig’s clients, former officers of a defunct company. The SJC upheld the dismissal of Calixto’s claims alleging violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act, G. L. c. 149, § 148 (Wage Act), and breach of fiduciary duty. Calixto involved an issue of first impression under Massachusetts law – whether damages awarded for a violation of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2109 (2018) (WARN Act) constitute “earned wages” under the Wage Act, for which officers of the company can be held individually liable.

To read the full GT Alert, click here.

Tags: compensation, earned wages, employees, employers, Greenberg Traurig, GT, gtlaw, gt_law, Labor & Employment, massachusetts, wage, Wage Act, wages, WARN Act
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Photo of Justin F. Keith Justin F. Keith

Justin helps unionized businesses maintain successful labor relations and helps non-union companies maintain direct relationships with their employees through education, training, and proactive union awareness. His labor practice encompasses all aspects of labor relations, including unfair labor practices, representation proceedings before the National

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Justin helps unionized businesses maintain successful labor relations and helps non-union companies maintain direct relationships with their employees through education, training, and proactive union awareness. His labor practice encompasses all aspects of labor relations, including unfair labor practices, representation proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and Courts of Appeal, contract negotiations, strikes and lockouts, grievances, and arbitrations. Justin also represents employers in all areas of employment law—including reductions in force, litigation of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and retaliation claims, and numerous other personnel and workplace issues—before state and federal agencies and in courts throughout the country.

Justin Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s Labor-Management Relations group and advises clients in all areas of traditional labor law, including union organizing campaigns, collective bargaining negotiations, unfair labor practice charges and representation case proceedings before the NLRB, union awareness strategy and training, strike response and contingency planning, grievance arbitration proceedings, and appellate litigation before the NLRB and the Courts of Appeals. Justin was co-counsel to New Process Steel in the landmark Supreme Court case, New Process Steel v. NLRB, 560 U.S. 674 (2010). He is also a contributing editor of The Developing Labor Law, the leading treatise on U.S. labor law, and a frequent speaker to legal and industry groups on labor and employment issues.

Justin has litigated dozens of wage and hour class actions brought under the Massachusetts Wage Act and nationwide collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. He represents employers across a broad spectrum of industries, including retail, transportation, delivery services, and telecom services in nationwide class and collective actions brought throughout the country.

Justin regularly provides counsel to senior management and human resource personnel on employment law compliance matters, such as reductions in force, leaves of absence, exempt status classification under the FLSA and state law, employee discipline, sexual

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Photo of Mian R. Wang Mian R. Wang

Mian R. Wang focuses her practice on high-stakes business litigation. She represents public and private companies, financial institutions, directors, officers, and individuals before state and federal courts in complex commercial litigation and bankruptcy litigation. She has deep experience handling matters related to breach…

Mian R. Wang focuses her practice on high-stakes business litigation. She represents public and private companies, financial institutions, directors, officers, and individuals before state and federal courts in complex commercial litigation and bankruptcy litigation. She has deep experience handling matters related to breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, preference claims, UCC secured transactions, negligence, and fraudulent transfers. In addition, she also has experience representing financial institutions in litigation involving claims brought under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and Massachusetts unfair and deceptive trade practices. Her practice covers multiple disciplines and industries, including education, health care, event management, start-up firms, financial institutions, and commercial finance and asset management firms.

Prior to joining the firm, Mian served as a law clerk for the Honorable Alvin W. Thompson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. She also worked in Delaware as a business litigator in a national firm where she represented clients on both state and federal matters.

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Photo of David G. Thomas David G. Thomas

David Thomas serves a Co-Chair of the Boston Litigation Group. He is a litigation, trial, and appellate attorney focusing on defending companies against unfair or deceptive business practices claims in individual and putative class action settings. Among other things, David represents (1) manufacturers

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David Thomas serves a Co-Chair of the Boston Litigation Group. He is a litigation, trial, and appellate attorney focusing on defending companies against unfair or deceptive business practices claims in individual and putative class action settings. Among other things, David represents (1) manufacturers and retailers facing false advertising claims arising out of alleged violations of federal and state consumer protection statutes, including the Federal Trade Commission Act and “little FTC Acts” like Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A – the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, and (2) lenders, mortgage brokers and servicers facing predatory lending and unfair servicing claims arising out of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and state laws governing consumer financing and mortgage loan servicing. David also has represented companies and individuals facing securities law claims in an individual and class action setting and companies responding to civil investigative demands under the False Claims Act and state laws and enforcement actions brought by federal and state regulatory agencies, including the United States Department of Justice, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, and other federal and state agencies.

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