Mui v. Massachusetts Port Authority (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-016-18)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-12296 TZE-KIT MUI vs. MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY. Suffolk. November 6, 2017. – January 29, 2018. Present: Gants, C.J., Gaziano, Budd, & Cypher, JJ. Massachusetts Wage Act. Massachusetts Port Authority. Public Employment, Sick leave benefits. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on October 17, 2014. The case was heard by Robert B. Gordon, J., on motions for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Laurie F. Rubin for the defendant. Kevin C. Merritt for the plaintiff. David J. Fried, for Massachusetts Employment Lawyers Association, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. BUDD, J. The plaintiff, Tze-Kit Mui, sued his former employer, Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport or agency), alleging that Massport failed to timely compensate him for his accrued, unused sick time under the Wage Act, G. L. c. 149, §§ 148, 150 (Wage Act or act). A Superior Court judge allowed Mui’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. Massport appealed, and we transferred the case here on our own initiative. Because we conclude that payment for accrued, unused sick time (sick pay) does not count as “wages” under the act, we vacate the judgment and remand the matter to the Superior Court.[1] Background. In 2013, Massport initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mui, a longtime employee.[2] One week later, he applied for retirement. Massport’s employees’ retirement system set Mui’s retirement date retroactively, despite the fact that the disciplinary proceedings had not been resolved. Several weeks later, Massport discharged Mui for cause.[3] The termination was subsequently overturned pursuant to a grievance procedure.[4] Under Massport’s sick pay policy, eligible employees receive payment for a percentage of the value of their accrued, unused sick time upon separation from the agency.[5] Employees who are discharged for cause are not eligible for sick pay. Prior to the completion of the grievance process, Massport’s position was that because the agency initiated disciplinary proceedings against Mui by suspending him prior to his application for retirement, and then terminated him (an action that was later reversed), he was not entitled to any sick pay. Once the arbitrator ruled that Massport could not terminate Mui because he had already retired, the agency paid the value of Mui’s accrued sick time pursuant to its policy. Because of the grievance […]