Cambridge to Pay Former Employees More Than $180,000 After Post-Layoff Paycheck Delay

Cambridge has agreed to pay more than $180,000 to seven former employees after failing to deliver their final paychecks on time, in violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act.

The employees — laid off as part of a November restructuring of the city’s diversity-related commissions — were required under state law to receive their final paychecks in full on their last date of employment, Jan. 16. Instead, the payments were issued one week later, on Jan. 23, according to a Monday statement from Raecia Catchings, who leads the city’s Human Resources Department.

Under the Wage Act, employers who miss final payment deadlines can be liable for mandatory damages. In this case, Cambridge owed each employee additional compensation equal to twice the delayed wages, along with payment for unused vacation and personal time. The city is also required to cover legal fees for two employees who retained counsel.

In total, the settlements will cost the city a total of $180,781, according to documents obtained by The Crimson. Individual payouts range from roughly $5,000 to tens of thousands of dollars.

The payment issue came to the city’s attention in February, when former employees contacted officials about the delay. After reviewing the matter, the city concluded that it had not complied with the Wage Act and that the additional payments and fees were required, Catchings wrote.

“Human Resources fully acknowledges this oversight and has taken corrective steps to prevent it from occurring again in the future,” she wrote.

By early March, the city had agreed to compensate all seven employees, according to the documents.

The layoffs themselves marked a rare round of personnel cuts in Cambridge, which has not undertaken reductions of similar scale in decades. They came amid mounting fiscal pressure, including an unexpected nearly $8 million reduction in federal housing assistance and broader efforts to curb spending ahead of fiscal year 2027. A week before the layoffs, City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 directed city departments to identify cuts aimed at saving approximately $12 million.

The November layoffs affected multiple departments, including the Women’s Commission, the Peace Commission, the LGBTQ+ Commission, the Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship, and the Human Rights Commission. The cuts were paired with a complete restructuring of Cambridge’s Equity and Inclusion Department.

Since then, the EID’s five executive directors — who oversee bodies including the Police Review Advisory Board, the city’s internal Office of Equity and Inclusion, and the Minority Business Enterprise Program — have reported to the city’s Chief of Equity and Inclusion Deidre Travis Brown.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.