“Virtual Retailer” SimpliSafe Owes Employees Additional Sunday Pay

A trial court judge in Massachusetts ruled that SimpliSafe, Inc., a "virtual" home security company, violated the Massachusetts Wage Act by failing to pay Sunday "premium pay" (i.e., time-and-a-half) to its Customer Support Representatives (CSRs) working at its call center in Boston. ​The case, Galloway v. SimpliSafe, Inc., centered on whether SimpliSafe’s call center qualified as a "store or shop" under the state’s Sunday Pay statute, which requires certain retailers to pay employees adiditional wages for Sunday work.

The court determined that SimpliSafe’s call center meets the definition of a "store or shop" because it is a place where retail sales of SimpliSafe products occur, even though transactions are conducted over the phone rather than in a physical storefront. The court explained:

Nothing in the Sunday Pay Statute mandates that a "store or shop" possess a "storefront" or a "physical space open to the general public" in order to be subject to its requirements, nor would it be logical in this technology-driven day and age to imply such a mandate.

​The court also found that the work performed by CSRs, including technical support and sales, is "directly connected" to SimpliSafe’s retail activities, further solidifying the company’s obligation to pay Sunday Premium Pay. ​

Additionally, the court rejected SimpliSafe’s argument that employees lack a private right of action under the Wage Act for unpaid Sunday premium pay, affirming that employees can pursue claims for withheld wages, including statutory premiums, through private lawsuits.

The decision recognizes the changing nature of retail work. As Rachel Smit explained to Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly:

Our clients were doing the same work that retail workers in brick-and-mortar stores routinely perform. Judge Davis properly interpreted the Sunday pay statute in light of its remedial purpose and recognized that the rights of retail workers do not change even though the internet and new technologies may change the ways in which they interact with customers.

The court's decision on summary judgment is available below.

• Decision and Order