At Issue & In Focus

Massachusetts teens speak up about ‘Safe Jobs for Youth’ – Pass it on!

This April and May have been packed with events around making workplaces safer for Massachusetts teens.

• DPH’s Teens at Work project released it’s annual surveillance report on work-related injuries to teens;
• Our community partner, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (MassCOSH), held its annual three-day LEAPS academy to help build leadership skills in youth around workplace health and safety;
• This year marks the 5-year anniversary of child labor reform in Massachusetts.
• And, the Massachusetts Governor proclaimed May 2012 to be Young Worker Safety Month, an important reminder that everyone has a role to play in keeping our youth safe on the job. 

But most exciting, the Massachusetts Youth Employment & Safety Team (YES Team), which includes AGO, and MassCOSH once again teamed together to sponsor the second annual Safe Jobs for Youth Poster Contest. We called on teens from across the state to design posters that stress the importance of safety on the job for young people. 

In addition to being blown away by the amount of creativity and talent here in the Commonwealth, we always learn so much from hearing (and seeing) what teens have to say about this important issue. So we were thrilled to receive 120 contest entries. From those, we took 12 finalist posters on the road to another 70 youth across the state and asked them to help us judge the winners. Judging groups included the JAG Network in Milford, the Brockton Mayor’s Youth Council, LEAD in Holyoke, Design & Visual Communications at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, STARs at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, and the MassCOSH Teens Lead at Work (TL@W) Peer Leaders in Boston. An extra special thanks to these groups for participating!

The contest winners were announced at an awards ceremony on April 26, during MassCOSH’s LEAPS academy. We were honored to have State Senator Patricia Jehlen, sponsor to the 2007 Massachusetts child labor reform, join us as the keynote speaker and present the contest winners with their awards.

Photo by MassCOSH: Winners, TL@W organizers and State Senator Jehlen showcase three of the winning posters.

So please, take a moment to see what Massachusetts teens have to say about “Safe Jobs for Youth”:

• Check out the winning posters online;
• Keep your eyes out for the winning poster on MBTA and PVTA public transportation.

And then, especially with the summer jobs season nearly here, help us to spread the word about keeping MA teens safe on the job. As you can see, it’s definitely something to speak out about!

AG Coakley Announces Legislative Agenda

Attorney General Martha Coakley today announced the filing of nine bills as a part of her legislative agenda. The series of bills seek to better protect public safety, combat fraud and corruption, and address the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts. The bills include legislation that would establish standards and require banks to engage in loan modifications when they are financially beneficial to the bank before foreclosing on a property.  The AG’s Office also filed comprehensive human trafficking legislation that would establish human trafficking for sexual servitude or labor as a crime in Massachusetts, one of only five states in the country without human trafficking laws. Additionally, the AG’s Office filed comprehensive economic crime legislation designed to give law enforcement the necessary tools to investigate and prosecute sophisticated criminal activities and enterprises in the 21^st century.  Other bills filed relate to drug trafficking in methamphetamine, corporate manslaughter, dissemination of harmful materials to minors, manufactured housing, metals dealing, and the failure to have workers’ compensation insurance.  To see the full press release, click here.

DOMA Decision Reached

Last Thursday, the Attorney General’s Office won a landmark decision that struck down Section 3 of DOMA. Today, same-sex wedded couples in Massachusetts will immediately be eligible for over 1,100 federal benefits that they were previously ineligible for due to this discriminatory and unprecedented law which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.  This is the first time a successful challenge to the Spending Clause of the Constitution has been brought and only the third time that a successful 10th amendment challenge was brought.

The decision, issued late yesterday by Judge Joseph L. Tauro also distinctly gives Massachusetts the right to regulate marriage among its citizens so that it no longer has to operate under a federally created caste system of first and second class marriages. Judge Tauro wrote in his ruling that “DOMA set the Commonwealth on a collision course with the federal government in the field of domestic relations.” Judge Tauro also wrote that because the federal government attached unconstitutional conditions to the receipt of federal funding, it exceed the scope of its authority. Massachusetts was the first of five states to marry same-sex couples.

Teen Workers: What Can I Do?

Part three of a three part series on youth workers

As the country honors Labor Day, teenagers all across Massachusetts are employed in a variety of capacities.  While working, or before starting your first job, it is important to know what laws protect you as an employee. 

Child labor laws set very specific requirements for the type of work minors under the age of 16, and for all others under the age of 18 may be employed to do.

• Minors under the age of 16 may not cook, work in freezers or meat coolers, work as a public messenger, or perform any baking activities. 
• If you are under 18-years-old, you may not handle, sell, or serve alcoholic beverages, nor may you work in railway operations.

These are a small sampling of the many hazardous occupations prohibited to minors. For additional restriction, check out the Hazardous Jobs sections of the Attorney General’s website. For an exhaustive list, contact the Fair Labor Division of the Attorney General's Office at (617) 727-3465.

If you believe you are a victim of a child labor violation, you can file a complaint with the Attorney’s General Office. 

Teen Workers: When Can I Start?

Part two of a three part series on youth workers

As the country honors Labor Day, teenagers all across Massachusetts are employed in a variety of capacities.  While working, or before starting your first job, it is important to know what laws protect you as an employee. 

Generally speaking, you must be at least 14 years old to get a job. However, there are some exceptions to this law:

• To work on a farm not owned or operated by your parents, you must be at least 12 years old and have written consent of a parent or guardian until age 14.
• To deliver newspapers, you must be at least 9 years old and obtain a special badge and written consent of a parent or guardian.
• To engage in limited seasonal work, you must be at least 10 years old, and have special permissions from the federal Secretary of Labor until age 12.
• To sell certain articles in public places, you must be at least 12 years old.  However, selling door-to-door is prohibited until the age of 16.

Prior to starting a new job, anyone under the age of 18 must be issued an employment permit by the Superintendant of Schools in the city of town where the minor lives or attends school. Applications can be downloaded off of the AGO website.  For additional information about the youth employment laws that protect you as a worker, check out the AG’s Labor Lowdown website.

Teen Workers: How Many Hours?

This is the season for back to school and, for many teenagers across the state, for back to work.  In honor of Labor Day, we would like to take this opportunity to remind teenagers, their parents, and those that employ young people, of the specific laws which are in place to  protect workers ages 14-18. 

Child labor laws restrict the number of days and hours that minors can work. For example: 

• Teens under age 18 cannot work more than six days a week.  
• Teens ages 16-17 cannot work after 10:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m., with some exceptions: if the workplace stops serving customers at 10:00 p.m., 16-17 minors can work until 10:15 p.m.; and on non-school nights, they may work until 11:30 p.m. or until midnight if employed at a restaurant or racetrack. 
• Teens ages 16-17 cannot work longer than nine hours a day or more than 48 hours a week.

For a complete list of hour restrictions for employed minors, visit the Hour Restrictions section of the Attorney General’s website.

You Work for It; You Should Get Paid for It, Too

Using your vacation hours for an actual vacation is ideal, but what happens if you are laid off before you get to use the vacation time?  Today’s economic climate has many companies declaring bankruptcy, laying off workers, and in some cases businesses are forced to close some locations or shut down entirely.  These situations may leave employees wondering about what they are owed for the hours worked, including their earned vacation time. 

Employers are not required to provide paid vacation to their employees, but those who do must treat those payments like any other wages under the law. Withholding vacation payments is the equivalent of withholding wages and, as such, is illegal.  Employees must be paid for all earned vacation upon termination of employment.

Recently, the Attorney General’s Office reached an agreement with Home Depot to settle allegations the company did not properly calculate vacation benefits for some of their employees.  Under the agreement, Home Depot agreed to pay nearly $45,000 in restitution to 58 former employees, and an assessment of $10,000 to the Commonwealth.

If you have questions or need help, contact the AGO Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465. Learn more by visiting the Vacation section of the AGO website.

Direct Deposit: Protecting Your Paycheck

Having direct deposit is an efficient and time-saving method for many employees to get paid.  An employer will usually offer this option to an employee at no cost, with no deductions being taken from their wages to deposit the funds.  However, there are a few things you should know about this option. 

First, your employer can’t charge you a fee for direct deposit.  Any charge by an employer for the direct deposit of a paycheck is considered an illegal deduction of wages in under the Massachusetts Wage Act.  Nevertheless, there have been some instances where employers have taken deductions from an employee’s paycheck  as an administrative fee for providing direct deposit, and that is unlawful (The Boston Globe, Charge for direct deposit of check-legal?, June 29, 2009).

Second, your employer can require you to be paid via direct deposit; however they cannot specify what bank your deposit goes to.  The Office of the Commissioner of Banks issued a 1997 opinion which found that the law does not prevent an employer from requiring employees to have a direct deposit account to receive their wages, but the employer cannot specify which financial institution will receive the direct deposit.

The AGO’s Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage and overtime laws, and the payment of wages laws in the Commonwealth.  Workers who feel that these laws have been violated in their workplace are urged to call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465.  More information about the wage and hour laws is available in the Workplace Rights section of the Attorney General’s website, and in multiple languages at MassWorkRights.com.

Workers’ Compensation

Have you been injured on the job or contracted a work-related illness?  If so, you are protected by insurance as an employee in Massachusetts.  All employees in the Commonwealth are entitled to benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation system for work-related illnesses or injuries. 

All employers are required by law to provide their employees with workers’ compensation insurance coverage.  You are entitled to this coverage regardless of the following factors:

• Your age or employment status
• Who or what caused your injury or illness
• Your citizenship status in the United States
• The payment system that your employer uses

As an employee, you also have the right to know the name and policy number of your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer.  This information should be posted in the workplace for all to see.  Keep in mind that you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits even if your employer has no workers’ compensation insurance.

Under the state’s workers’ compensation system, you are entitled to a number of benefits.  For example, you are entitled to get medical treatment for your injury or illness and have it paid for by your employer.  You also have the right to choose your own doctor.  If you are unable to work for six or more calendar days, you are entitled to be paid a portion of your lost wages.  For a complete list of benefits, visit the Types of Benefits section of the Department of Industrial Accidents’ (DIA) website.

For information about filing a claim, visit the Filing your Workers’ Compensation Claim section of the DIA website.  For more information about workers’ compensation, visit the Workers’ Compensation section of the DIA website.

Protecting Your Paycheck

Having direct deposit is an efficient and time-saving method for many employees to get paid.  An employer will usually offer this option to an employee at no cost, with no deductions being taken from their wages to deposit the funds.  However, there are a few things you should know about this option. 

First, your employer can’t charge you a fee for direct deposit.  Any charge by an employer for the direct deposit of a paycheck is considered an illegal deduction of wages in under the Massachusetts Wage Act.  Nevertheless, there have been some instances where employers have taken deductions from an employee’s paycheck  as an administrative fee for providing direct deposit, and that is unlawful (The Boston Globe, Charge for direct deposit of check-legal?, June 29, 2009).

Second, your employer can require you to be paid via direct deposit, however they cannot specify what bank your deposit goes to.  The Office of the Commissioner of Banks issued a 1997 opinion which found that the law does not preclude an employer from mandating that employees have a direct deposit account to receive their wages.  However, an employer cannot specify which financial institution will receive the direct deposit.

The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage and overtime laws, and the payment of wages laws in the Commonwealth.  Workers who feel that these laws have been violated in their workplace are urged to call the AGO's Fair Labor Hotline.  More information about the wage and hour laws is available in the Workplace Rights section of the AGO website, and in multiple languages at MassWorkRights.com.