Before November of 2014, if you filed litigation alleging you were owed overtime compensation, the Court could only “look back” two years from the date you filed the lawsuit when awarding any potential recovery. The only overtime hours that “counted,” were the ones you worked within that most recent two year period.
The third year back, and the hours worked, were treated as if they never happened from a legal perspective (unless other allegations were made under the Federal law).
Thankfully, the Legislature just extended the statute of limitations period to three (3) years for overtime claims. You can read the legalese here, or just take our word for it.
So What?
The significance is, those individuals who are owed overtime going back three years don’t have to sacrifice that third year – their potential claims become much more valuable, and worth pursuing. If you have unpaid overtime in Massachusetts, we want to hear from you. If you were misclassified as an independent contractor, and have unpaid wages or unpaid overtime – we want to hear from you.