Amendment #176 to H4100

Treble Damages

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Peterson of Grafton, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough, deMacedo of Plymouth, Adams of Andover, Barrows of Mansfield, Bastien of Gardner, Beaton of Shrewsbury, Boldyga of Southwick, D'Emilia of Bridgewater, Diehl of Whitman, Durant of Spencer, Fattman of Sutton, Ferguson of Holden, Frost of Auburn, Gifford of Wareham, Harrington of Groton, Howitt of Seekonk, Humason of Westfield, Hunt of Sandwich, Kuros of Uxbridge, Levy of Marlborough, Lombardo of Billerica, Lyons of Andover, O'Connell of Taunton, Orrall of Lakeville, Ross of Attleboro, Smola of Palmer, Vieira of Falmouth, Webster of Pembroke, Winslow of Norfolk and Wong of Saugus move to amend the bill by inserting, after section xx, the following:—

“SECTION XX.  Section 27 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

‘Any employee claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section may, at the expiration of 90 days after the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner if the attorney general assents in writing, and within 3 years after the said violation, institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly situated, a civil action for injunctive relief, for any damages incurred, and for any loss of wages and other benefits.  Any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action shall if said violation be willful, be awarded triple damages, as liquidated damages, for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee shall also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees; provided, further, that any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action if said violation is not willful, shall be awarded damages as determined by the court for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee may also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.’

SECTION XX.  Section 27F of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

‘Any employee claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section may, at the expiration of 90 days after the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner if the attorney general assents in writing, and within 3 years after the said violation, institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly situated, a civil action for injunctive relief, for any damages incurred, and for any loss of wages and other benefits.  Any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action shall if said violation be willful, be awarded triple damages, as liquidated damages, for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee shall also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees; provided, further, that any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action if said violation is not willful, shall be awarded damages as determined by the court for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee may also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.’

SECTION XX.  Section 27G of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

‘Any employee claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section may, at the expiration of 90 days after the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner if the attorney general assents in writing, and within 3 years after the said violation, institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly situated, a civil action for injunctive relief, for any damages incurred, and for any loss of wages and other benefits.  Any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action shall if said violation be willful, be awarded triple damages, as liquidated damages, for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee shall also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees; provided, further, that any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action if said violation is not willful, shall be awarded damages as determined by the court for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee may also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.’

SECTION XX.  Section 27H of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

‘Any employee claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section may, at the expiration of 90 days after the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner if the attorney general assents in writing, and within 3 years after the said violation, institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly situated, a civil action for injunctive relief, for any damages incurred, and for any loss of wages and other benefits.  Any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action shall if said violation be willful, be awarded triple damages, as liquidated damages, for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee shall also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees; provided, further, that any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action if said violation is not willful, shall be awarded damages as determined by the court for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee may also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.’

SECTION  XX. Section 150 of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is heareby amended by striking out the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

‘Any employee claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of sections 33E, 148, 148A, 148B, 150C, 152, 152A or 159C or section 19 of chapter 151 may, at the expiration of 90 days after the filing of a complaint with the attorney general, or sooner if the attorney general assents in writing, and within 3 years after the said violation, institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, or for himself and for others similarly situated, a civil action for injunctive relief, for any damages incurred, and for any loss of wages and other benefits.  Any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action shall if said violation be willful, be awarded triple damages, as liquidated damages, for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee shall also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees; provided, further, that any employee so aggrieved and who prevails in such an action if said violation is not willful, shall be awarded damages as determined by the court for any loss of wages and other benefits; and the employee may also be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees.’”.