Supermarkets pay $800,000 in overtime violations
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston-area supermarket chain will pay $800,000 to settle allegations that it violated state labor laws by not paying overtime and bonuses over the weekend, the attorney general’s office said Tuesday.
The C-Mart stores, which specialize in Asian groceries and are located in Boston’s South End and Chinatown neighborhoods and in Quincy, received 15 subpoenas in 2021, according to an investigation by the attorney general’s Fair Labor Division.
Aside from the fact that workers were not being properly paid for overtime or hours worked on Sundays, authorities concluded that the shops were not providing accurate payslips and were not posting the required workplace notices.
The settlement was reached after C-Mart appealed the 2021 subpoenas.
“I’m proud of the Bureau’s work to ensure workers harmed by C-Mart are recouped the wages they are rightfully owed,” Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement.
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An email was left with a supermarket lawyer for comment.
Most Massachusetts workers are entitled to an hour and a half wage if they work more than 40 hours a week. At the time of the survey, most were also entitled to a Sunday work supplement.
The Attorney General is distributing the money to affected C-Mart employees as part of a claims process.
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