With surprisingly little fanfare, the Massachusetts legislature recently amended the state workers’ compensation statute to create a private right of action against Massachusetts employers who fail to pay their workers’ compensation insurance premiums. This means that employees, businesses, and other private individuals and entities now have the legal power to sue employers who violate the workers’ compensation laws for a share of compensatory damages, based on the total amount owed by the employer as a result of the violation. The law, which is the first of its kind in the country, applies prospectively to policies issued or renewed after the law’s effective date of November 7, 2010.

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