Remote Workers And The Massachusetts Wage Act — Proceed With Caution

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact upon the use of remote workforces by U.S. businesses is undisputed. In recent years, the conventional wisdom has been that remote employees living in other states throughout the United States would not be able to avail themselves of the employee-friendly employment laws found in Massachusetts (or other states where the workers don't actually live or work).

A recent federal court decision in Massachusetts puts that premise in question. In Wilson v. Recorded Future, Inc., a former employee residing in Virginia brought claims against his former employer under Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws as well as the Massachusetts Wage Act ("Wage Act"). The company filed a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that any employment claims by its former employee should be brought in Virginia where he lived and worked throughout his stint with the company. Under Massachusetts state law, in the absence of a contractual choice-of-law