Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Campbell recently announced a number of citations against Quick Temp., Inc. (the company), its owner, and its manager, for alleged wage, sick time, and records violations.

The now defunct company — having ceased operations in March 2022 — previously connected employees as day laborers with waste management client companies. According to Campbell, “Quick Temp repeatedly denied their employees a prevailing wage and other benefits guaranteed to them by law.”

The Massachusetts AG was apprised of the alleged violations by Teamsters Local 25, which reported that the company had been paying workers significantly less than the prevailing wage rate required by multiple municipalities’ waste management contracts. The Teamsters also disclosed that employees were required to cash pay “vouchers” at a local check cashing establishment, which required a fee to do so.

A subsequent investigation by the Massachusetts AG determined that, in addition to prevailing wage violations, the company deducted wages from pay for cashing vouchers, did not pay overtime, failed to pay a minimum wage, failed to keep true and accurate records, and did not furnish earned sick leave. The citations issued by the Massachusetts AG total $1,392,665, in restitution and civil fines.

State AGs have consistently targeted wage theft as an issue of considerable concern — with several lawsuits being brought just this year by the AGs for District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, to name a few. In some instances, state AGs have even employed the False Claims Act to address prevailing wage violations[1]. Although state labor departments are generally the primary regulator for workplace laws, state AGs operate as the legal mechanism that allows for the pursuit of criminal prosecutions and the filing of lawsuits. Nine state AG offices, including Massachusetts, have dedicated labor units[2] — with several others housing staff specifically designated to focus on workers’ issues[3].

Why It Matters

The citations against Quick Temp should come as no surprise, given the unwaning attention that state AGs nationwide have afforded to workers’ rights, particularly with respect to wages. Companies seeking to avoid prosecution or citations from state AGs must remain cognizant of the laws relevant to their employment practices, and should seek legal assistance in order to ensure continued compliance.

[1] The New York AG and the New York City comptroller recovered $3 million in a False Claims Act case alleging that luxury buildings received a tax abatement but failed to meet the requirement to either provide affordable housing or pay prevailing wages to building service workers. https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-comptroller-lander-and-32bj-seiu-recover-3-million-real.

[2] (California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania).

[3] (Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Maine).

Troutman Pepper State Attorneys General Team

Ashley Taylor – Co-leader and Firm Vice Chair
Ashley is co-leader of the firm’s nationally ranked State Attorneys General practice, vice chair of the firm, and a partner in its Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group. He helps his clients navigate the complexities involved with multistate attorneys general investigations and enforcement actions, federal agency actions, and accompanying litigation.
Clay Friedman – Co-leader
Clayton is a partner in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group and co-leader of the State Attorneys General practice, multidisciplinary teams with decades of experience crafting effective strategies to help deter or mitigate the risk of enforcement actions and litigation.
Judy Jagdmann
Judy is a partner in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy and Enforcement (RISE) practice, based in the Richmond office. She brings experience serving as chair and commissioner of the Virginia State Corporate Commission (VSCC) from 2006 through 2022, which includes regulating the utilities, insurance, banking, and securities industries. She also served as Virginia’s attorney general from 2005-2006.
Stephen Piepgrass
Stephen leads the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group. He focuses his practice on enforcement actions, investigations, and litigation. Stephen primarily represents clients engaging with, or being investigated by, state attorneys general and other state or local governmental enforcement bodies, including the CFPB and FTC, as well as clients involved with litigation, with a particular focus on heavily regulated industries.
Avi Schick
A former deputy attorney general of New York, Avi applies his experience in bet-the-company matters, representing clients in criminal and civil investigations and enforcement actions before state and federal regulators, prosecutors and enforcement agencies.
Michael Yaghi
Michael is a partner in the firm’s State Attorneys General and Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Groups, nationwide teams that advise clients on consumer protection enforcement matters and other regulatory issues.
Tim Bado
Tim is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group, where he represents corporations and individuals facing potential civil and criminal exposure. Tim’s experience in government investigations, enforcement actions, and white-collar litigation spans a number of industries, including financial services, pharmaceutical, health care, and government contracting, among others.
Chris Carlson
Chris Carlson represents clients in regulatory, civil and criminal investigations and litigation. In his practice, Chris regularly employs his prior regulatory experience to benefit clients who are interacting with and being investigated by state attorneys general.
Natalia Jacobo
Natalia is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy and Enforcement (RISE) practice. She focuses her practice on two primary areas: government contracting and state attorney general work.
Namrata Kang
Namrata (Nam) is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group, based in the Washington, D.C. office. She routinely advises clients on a wide variety of state and federal regulatory matters, with a particular emphasis on state consumer protection laws relating to consumer financial services and marketing and advertising.
Michael Lafleur
Michael is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy, and Enforcement Practice Group. Based out of the firm’s Boston office, Mike has deep experience in litigation, investigations, and other regulatory matters involving state-level regulators and state attorneys general.
Susan Nikdel
Susan is an associate in the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Practice Group, and focuses her practice on consumer financial services matters. She has defended several of the nation’s largest and most influential financial institutions in individual and class action litigation involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and other consumer privacy statutes.
John Sample
John is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group. He focuses his practice on a wide range of general and complex litigation matters, including shareholder disputes, fraud, products liability, breach of contract, and Biometric Information Privacy Act claims.
Whitney Shephard
Whitney is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group. She represents clients facing state and federal regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, as well as related civil litigation.
Trey Smith
Trey is an associate in the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement Practice. He focuses his practice on helping financial institutions and consumer facing companies navigate regulatory investigations and resulting litigation.
Daniel Waltz
Daniel is a member of the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) Practice Group and State Attorneys General team. He counsels clients in connection with navigating complex government investigations, regulatory compliance, and transactions, involving state and federal government contracting obligations. Drawing on his broad experience as a former assistant attorney general for the state of Illinois, Daniel is a problem solver both inside and outside the courtroom.
Stephanie Kozol
Stephanie is Troutman Pepper’s senior government relations manager in the state attorneys general department.