Dan Field Publishes Article Discussing Incentive Bonus Programs Under the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Act

In the January 2011 volume of the Massachusetts Law Review, MBJ partner Dan Field published an article analyzing Weems v. Citigroup, Inc.   In Weems, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that an incentive bonus program that includes forfeitable restricted stock is a form of compensation that does not constitute “wages” within the meaning of the Wage Act.  In limiting the definition of compensation covered by the Wage Act to so-called “earned wages,” the Court clarified that purely discretionary pay is not protected by the Act.

The Massachusetts Law Review is a quarterly publication of the Massachusetts Bar Association. The full text of the article is available at http://www.massbar.org/publications/massachusetts-law-review/2011.