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Retention Bonus Found Not to Constitute ‘Wages’ Under the Massachusetts Wage Act
On September 6, 2024, the Appellate Division of the Massachusetts District Court held in Nunez v. Syncsort Incorporated that a retention bonus that the defendant-employer allegedly owed to the plaintiff, its former employee, did not constitute wages within the meaning of the Massachusetts Wage Act. The decision is significant in that it answers a question about the applicability of the Commonwealth’s strict and employee-friendly wage laws that its appellate-level courts had not previously addressed, and it does so in a manner that is not only favorable to employers but also provides further support to a narrow interpretation of the act.
