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Massachusetts AG's Labor Day Report Highlights Worker Protections

MA AG Fair Labor Division

Published September 1st, 2025

Detected February 27th, 2026

Summary

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released the annual Labor Day Report for Fiscal Year 2025, detailing efforts to protect workers' rights. The report highlights over 1,500 enforcement actions against employers, resulting in the assessment of more than $196.6 million in unpaid wages and penalties for over 137,890 workers.

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What changed

The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has released its annual Labor Day Report for Fiscal Year 2025, summarizing enforcement actions taken to protect workers' rights and ensure fair pay. The report indicates that the AGO's Fair Labor Division conducted 1,542 enforcement actions against 1,405 employers, recovering over $196.6 million in unpaid wages and penalties for more than 137,890 workers. Key industries with significant assessments included transportation/delivery, restaurants/hotels, construction, and healthcare. The most common violation cited was untimely payment of wages.

While this report is primarily informational, it underscores the AG's office's active enforcement posture regarding labor laws in Massachusetts. Employers should be aware of the significant penalties assessed, particularly concerning wage payment and child labor violations, as highlighted by specific enforcement actions mentioned in the report. The report also references a substantial settlement with Uber and Lyft, indicating a focus on gig economy worker protections. No new compliance actions are mandated by this report, but it serves as a reminder of existing regulatory expectations and potential enforcement priorities.

Penalties

$196.6 million in unpaid wages and penalties assessed

Source document (simplified)

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Press Release

Press Release AG Campbell Releases Annual Labor Day Report Spotlighting Actions To Protect Massachusetts Workers

In Fiscal Year 2025, the AG’s Office Helped More Than 137,890 Workers and Assessed More Than $196.6 Million in Unpaid Wages and Penalties

For immediate release: 9/01/2025
- Office of the Attorney General
- The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division

Media Contact

Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary

Phone

Call Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

Online

Email Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at Sabrina.Zafar2@mass.gov

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today released the Attorney General’s Office (AGO)’s annual Labor Day Report, spotlighting the AGO’s dedicated efforts to protect the rights of Massachusetts workers and ensure access to fair pay, benefits, and safe working conditions for all.

“Every year, my Fair Labor Division strives to protect Massachusetts workers through education and enforcement of our state’s nation-leading labor laws – ensuring that our labor force can live and work with fairness, dignity, and security,” said AG Campbell. “I am proud of the tremendous strides we’ve made and look forward to continuing to protect and empower workers, reminding everyone that Massachusetts is serious about safeguarding workers’ rights and creating a level playing field for all employers.”

FY2025 By the Numbers

In Fiscal Year 2025, between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the AGO’s Fair Labor Division (FLD) took 1,542 enforcement actions against 1,405 employers for violating various worker protections, helping more than 137,890 workers and assessing more than $196.6 million in restitution for unpaid wages and penalties.

Due to assessments related to the AGO’s historic 2024 settlement with Uber and Lyft, which included $175 million in restitution for impacted drivers and penalties to the state, the transportation/delivery industry faced the highest rate of monetary assessments of restitution and penalties by the AGO in FY25.

Excluding assessments related to Uber and Lyft, the restaurant/hotel industry experienced the highest rate of monetary assessments (32.57%) by the AGO in FY25, with over $7 million assessed in restitution and penalties. Other industries with high enforcement assessments include the construction, hospitals/nursing home/healthcare, and cleaning/janitorial industries.

Consistent with previous years, the most common violation the AGO cited employers for in FY25 was for untimely payment of wages, with 586 enforcement actions.

Protecting and Empowering Young Workers

Representative of AG Campbell’s commitment to protecting and empowering young workers, in FY25, the AGO assessed more than $2.6 million against employers who violated the Commonwealth’s child labor laws, assisting more than 2,200 minors.

Notably, in November 2024, the AGO issued over $2 million in citations against dozens of Burger King and Popeyes franchise operators for violating child labor and other laws. Similarly, in April 2025, the AGO cited multiple Dunkin Donuts, McDonald’, and Subway franchise operators a combined total of over $226,000 in penalties for violating child labor laws.

In June 2025, the AGO’s Healthy Summer Youth Jobs Grant Program awarded more than $377,000 in grant funding, obtained from the AGO’s health care and child labor settlements, to 35 organizations across the Commonwealth to support youth summer job opportunities that focus on advancing public health and professional development for young people.

Cases of Interest

Throughout FY25, the AGO’s Fair Labor Division achieved notable victories for workers across the Commonwealth through its enforcement actions, securing millions in restitution and penalties for a range of workers’ rights violations.

In April 2025, the AGO reached a $3.1 million settlement, including restitution and penalties, with Swissport, a North-Caroline-based airport service company that employs workers at Boston’s Logan Airport. The settlement resolved allegations that the company failed to make timely payments to workers, failed to pay employees overtime rates for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week, and failed to maintain accurate employee payroll records.

In June 2025, the AGO issued nearly $1.8 million in citations, including restitution and penalties, against Azumi LLC, a Boston-based contemporary Japanese restaurant doing business as Zuma, and its manager Garrett Ronan. The AGO found that in violation of Massachusetts’ wage laws, the restaurant required service employees to share their tips with managers.

In June 2025, the AGO also issued nearly $1.1 million in citations, including restitution and penalties, against the owner of Alpha Healthcare LLC, a Swansea-based skilled nursing rehabilitation company that operates multiple facilities across the state. The AGO found that in violation of Massachusetts’ wage and hour laws, the company failed to make timely wage payments to hundreds of workers.

Community Engagement and Education

In addition to its robust enforcement efforts, during FY25, the AGO hosted or participated in 134 worker-and employer-focused community engagement events, 151 compliance visits, and 37 site visits. This includes regularly hosting free “ Wage Theft Clinics ” across the Commonwealth, which help connect workers who have wage issues and need free legal advice to community legal aid partners and private bar advocates. These efforts showcase the AGO’s commitment to not just enforcement, but to providing resources and education to help protect the rights of workers and ensure employers’ compliance with state laws

The entirety of the AGO’s FY25 Labor Day Report may be viewed here.

The AGO’s Fair Labor Division and Relevant Resources

The AGO’s Fair Labor Division consists of attorneys, investigators, intake and support staff. The Division enforces state laws regulating the payment of wages, including minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wage, child labor, and earned sick leave. It also protects employees from exploitation and wage theft through strong partnerships and community education.

The AGO is committed to protecting the rights of all workers, including immigrant workers, who are disproportionately subjected to illegal employment practices, such as wage theft. The AGO encourages workers and employers to review the AGO’s Advisory on the Rights of Immigrant Workers, which affirms that all workers, regardless of their immigration status, are entitled to employment protections, including the right to a fair wage, protection from retaliation, classification as an employee, and freedom from sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

In accordance with state and federal law, the AGO works to serve and protect all workers, without regard to immigration status, does not ask about workers’ immigration status, and does not voluntarily provide workers’ personal information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Workers in Massachusetts who believe their workplace rights have been violated are encouraged to file a complaint with the AGO’s Fair Labor Division at mass.gov/ago/fld. For more information about the state’s employment laws, workers may call the AGO’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or visit mass.gov/ago/fairlabor for information available in multiple languages.

Media Contact

Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary

Phone

Call Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

Online

Email Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at Sabrina.Zafar2@mass.gov

Office of the Attorney General

The Attorney General is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division

The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division protects workers from exploitation and sets a level playing field for employers. We enforce wage and hour, public construction, and child labor laws.

Media Contact

Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary

Phone

Call Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

Online

Email Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at Sabrina.Zafar2@mass.gov

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