Press Release  AG Campbell Announces More Than $230,000 In Citations Against Berkshire-based Cleaning Company For Improperly Retaining Tips And Failing To Pay Overtime Wages

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced a series of citations against Soleil Personnel and Sunshine Cleaning, totaling $236,936, including over $167,436 in restitution and damages for workers and $69,500 in penalties. 

The citations were issued for violations of various Massachusetts wage and hour laws, including failure to make timely payment of wages, retaining service employees’ tips, failure to pay overtime, non-payment of wages, and failure to keep true and accurate records. The employer also paid $15,000 in restitution and penalties to resolve the AGO’s claims that the businesses fired three employees in retaliation for the employees’ complaints about wage and hour violations.

Sunshine Cleaning provides housekeeping services to Vacation Village in the Berkshires, a Hancock timeshare resort. Soleil Personnel manages payroll and administration for Sunshine Cleaning. 

The matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division by Western Mass Labor Action (WMLA) in March 2024. The initial complaint alleged that the employer was shaving time from payroll and taking tips left for housekeeping employees. FLD’s investigation confirmed these violations. FLD also determined that the employer fired three employees in retaliation for their complaining about wage and hour violations. FLD has cited the employer for violations identified between May 2022 and June 2024. These include retaliation, tip theft, nonpayment of overtime, and recordkeeping violations.

These actions are part of AG Campbell’s ongoing efforts to champion worker’s rights and advance opportunity for all across the Commonwealth, the forefront of her strategic plan. Earlier this year, AG Campbell released the AGO’s 9th Annual Labor Day Report, which highlights the work undertaken by the AGO’s Fair Labor Division to protect workers over the past fiscal year. These actions include a range of enforcement, outreach, and advocacy efforts that assisted over 40,000 Massachusetts workers. Notably, the AGO’s past fiscal year’s enforcement actions assessed more than $31.5 million in restitution for unpaid wages and penalties related to violations of employment law by more than 630 employers. 

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 in multiple languages.  

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Kate Watkins and Investigator Jonah Berger, both of AG Campbell’s Fair Labor Division.

A Spanish version of this press release can be found here.  

###