Massachusetts AG Campbell announces nearly $1 million in citations to Dartmouth, Woburn, Norfolk, Ludlow, Springfield companies for violations against workers

BOSTON – Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced nearly $1 million in citations against five employers across five different industries for their failure to comply with Massachusetts’ sick time law and other worker protections. The citations include over $690,00 in restitution for impacted workers and over $274,000 in penalties. 

The employers who were cited include Tesco Inc., a Woburn temporary staffing agency; Horse N’ Carriage, a Norfolk restaurant; Paixao, Inc., a Ludlow cleaning and janitorial services company; Allied Health Systems, LLC., a home healthcare company in Springfield; and John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc., a Dartmouth construction company.  

Each company was cited for violating the Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Time Law, which provides workers the right to earn and use up to 40 hours of job-protected sick time per year.

“When employers violate our laws, including crucial protections for sick time that enable workers to take care of themselves and their families, vulnerable workers across the Commonwealth are unfairly harmed,” said AG Campbell. “I am proud of my team for their work, which will not only provide meaningful financial restitution to these workers but will also remind employers that Massachusetts is serious about protecting its workforce.”   

In addition to violations of the Earned Sick Time Law (ESL), the citations announced today include restitution and penalties for violations of various other worker protections, including Massachusetts’ wage and hour laws that pertain to employee pay and employer record keeping requirements. The citations against the companies are detailed below:  

• Tesco, Inc. was cited over $365,000 for violations related to ESL, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, inadequate pay slips, payroll recordkeeping, and failure to provide new work assignment notices to temporary employees. The violations occurred between July 2021 and January 2023.  
• Horse N’ Carriage was cited over $266,000 for violations, beginning in June 2020, related to ESL, minimum wage, and retention of employees’ tips, as part of a settlement agreement with the AGO.  
• Paixao, Inc. was cited nearly $300,000 for violations related to ESL, payroll recordkeeping, inadequate pay slips, timely pay, minimum wage, prevailing wage, and overtime pay. The violations occurred between January 2021 and April 2024. 
• Allied Health Systems, LLC was cited $80,000 for violations related to ESL, payroll recordkeeping, timely payments, and inadequate pay stubs. The violations occurred between August 2017 and October 2023.  
• John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc. was cited $46,600 for violations related to ESL, overtime pay, payroll recordkeeping, and inadequate pay slips. The violations occurred between May 2021 and October 2023. 

The matters were handled by the AGO’s Fair Labor Division, including Assistant Attorneys General Amy Goyer, Shannan Leelyn, Karina Valencia, and Kate Watkins, along with Investigators Filipa Melendez and Huong Phan.  

The AGO’s Fair Labor Division is tasked with enforcing the Earned Sick Time Law and other state employment laws in Massachusetts. Since AG Campbell took office in January 2023, the AGO has issued over $3,000,000 in citations to enforce the ESL, including over $660,000 in restitution for impacted workers and over $2,400,000 in penalties. These enforcement efforts have meaningfully impacted over 7,200 workers across Massachusetts. More information regarding the Earned Sick Time Law may be viewed at mass.gov/ago/earnedsicktime. 

Workers in Massachusetts who believe their workplace rights have been violated are encouraged to file a complaint with the AGO 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.