News  Former Logan Airport Contractor Cited for Systemic Violations of Wage and Hour Laws

Boston — Aviation Port Services LLC (APS), a California company that provided gate, luggage and other services to multiple airlines at Logan Airport, has been ordered to pay more than $380,000 in restitution and penalties for intentional violations of state wage and hour laws, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

APS and its president, Lars-Tony Hogdahl, were issued four citations for intentional violations of the minimum wage, timely payment, earned sick leave, and recordkeeping laws.

“This company knowingly and repeatedly violated the rights of its workers by unlawfully docking their pay for meal times and breaks, denying them sick leave, and underreporting the time they worked,” said AG Healey. “Our goal in this action is the recovery of airport workers’ pay and to send a clear message to other airport contractors.”

The AG’s Fair Labor Division began an investigation after receiving multiple complaints from APS employees. The investigation confirmed that APS issued paychecks with insufficient funds, failed to pay employees for time worked during missed meal breaks, and denied employees access to paid sick leave. The investigation also revealed that APS paid less than the minimum wage to employees it classified as “trainees,” made unlawful deductions from paychecks for uniforms, and frequently underreported and underpaid the time worked by employees.

“Massport holds all contractors responsible for upholding the law and paying their employees correctly,” said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “We thank AG Healey’s thorough investigation into this matter, which has produced such a positive outcome.”

Under Massachusetts Minimum Wage Law, it is unlawful to employ any individual for a wage of less than $11 per hour. Additionally, employees have the right to one hour of sick leave for every thirty hours worked and can accrue and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave time. Every employer must also keep a true and accurate record of the hours worked each day and each week by all employees and must pay wages earned within six days of the end of the pay period.

APS no longer operates at Logan Airport. The company served Alitalia, Air Berlin, Eurowings, Norwegian, Thomas Cook and WOW airlines. 

AG Healey’s Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing state laws regulating the payment of wages, including prevailing wage, minimum wage, earned sick time and overtime laws.

Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in their workplace are encouraged to file a complaint at www.mass.gov/ago/wagetheft. For information about the state’s wage and hour laws, workers may call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or go to the Attorney General’s new Workplace Rights website www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor for materials in multiple languages.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Amy Goyer and Supervisory Investigator Jennifer Pak, both of AG Healey’s Fair Labor Division.