
In Chapoteau, et al. v. Bella Sante, Inc., et al., the Massachusetts Appeals Court held that operators of beauty and massage spas that primarily render beauty and massage services were required to pay employees Sunday premium pay where the spas also sold retail products on Sundays.
Prior to January 1, 2023, Massachusetts law generally prohibited commercial activities on Sunday, but provided numerous exemptions, including for the operation of businesses that provided beauty and massage therapy services. Another exemption allowed businesses to sell retail goods on Sundays provided that the employers paid employees Sunday premium pay. For years, the Sunday premium pay rate was one and a half times the employee’s hourly rate; beginning in 2019, the Sunday premium pay rate was periodically reduced, until it was phased out on January 1, 2023. In Chapoteau, the spa employees asserted they were entitled to Sunday premium pay because the spas also sold beauty products in-store on Sundays. The employer responded that, because they primarily provided beauty and massage services, they were not required to pay the employees Sunday premium pay.
The Appeals Court held that the exemption that allowed the spas to conduct beauty and massage therapy services on Sundays did not permit the sale of goods on Sundays without paying employees Sunday premium pay. The Court further held that the fact that the spas were not “primarily” engaged in the sale of retail goods did not excuse their failure to pay employees Sunday premium pay when such retail sales took place on Sundays.
Although the Commonwealth eliminated the Sunday premium pay requirement for the sale of retail goods effective January 1, 2023, employers that offered services and sold retail good on Sundays but did not pay Sunday premium pay up through December 31, 2022 may soon face Wage Act claims in the wake of Chapoteau. Such claims can carry significant liability for Massachusetts employers. As a result, employers who sold retail goods prior to January 1, 2023 on Sundays, but did not pay Sunday premium pay to employees, should promptly consult with counsel.
For more information about this or any other Massachusetts Wage and Hour issues, please contact R. Victoria Fuller (fullerv@whiteandwilliams.com; 617.748.5223) or Tom Rueter (ruetert@whiteandwilliams.com; 617.748.5210).
Recent Posts
Categories
Tags
- Labor and Employment
- Employment Law
- Podcast
- Employment
- PLUS
- Wage
- Massachusetts
- FLSA
- New Jersey
- NLRA
- NLRB
- COVID-19
- Workplace Safety
- United States Supreme Court
- Artificial Intelligence
- Texas
- ELPI
- MCAD
- Workers’ Compensation
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Employment Policies
- OSHA
- Discrimination
- Unfair Labor Practices
- American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- SCOTUS
- Unions
- Wage and Hour
Authors
Archives
- February 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- January 2023
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021