A series of lawsuits filed against Maine businesses last summer, alleging violations of the State’s weekly wage payment laws, continues to progress through State and Federal courts. Class action lawsuits were filed against several McDonald’s and Burger King operators in Maine, along with Wal-Mart, Talk America, Gardiner Paperboard, Sheraton Tara and the Holiday Inn West, all of whom had recently utilized biweekly payroll systems.  Initially, all of the lawsuits were filed as class actions, and sought injunctive relief, damages, statutory penalties and attorneys’ fees.

The Plaintiffs seek statutory penalties for alleged violations of the weekly payment statute in amounts ranging from $100 to $500 for each violation.  They claim that every other week, the companies have committed a violation with respect to each and every person on their payrolls.  The Defendants have asserted that these penalties are essentially fines and can be pursued only by the Maine Department of Labor, not by private litigants. The Department has declined to join the Plaintiffs in these actions.

The Plaintiffs also claim that every late payment of wages constitutes unpaid wages, entitling each employee to statutory treble damages for every late payment over the past six years.  The Defendants have all asserted that all the employees received full payment of their wages, and that to argue that half of a biweekly paycheck is “unpaid” is overreaching.

In late summer, the plaintiffs amended their lawsuits to allege that the unpaid wages constituted a violation of Federal and State minimum wage laws as well.  At that point, one of the Defendants removed the case against it to Federal court, based upon the inclusion of a claim under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
No substantive rulings have yet been issued by any court on these lawsuits.  The Federal case is progressing more quickly than those in State court, all of which have been consolidated before Justice Nancy D. Mills of the Superior Court.

In the Federal court action, the Plaintiffs and the employer have both filed motions for summary judgment on the FLSA count.  A ruling is expected from the United States District Judge D. Brock Hornby in early 1999.

The parties in the State court proceedings also anticipate filing competing motions for summary judgment in early 1999.  Those motions will, in all likelihood, address only the state law claims.  A decision should be forthcoming from Justice Mills later this winter.