Labor and Employment Law Overview: Massachusetts

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Summary

Introduction to Employment Law in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has many laws that provide greater protections to employees than federal law, including a higher minimum wage, health care continuation coverage obligations for smaller employers and sick leave, but generally follows federal law with respect to topics such as military leave and occupational safety and health.

Select Massachusetts employment requirements are summarized below to help an employer understand the range of employment laws affecting the employer-employee relationship in the state. An employer must comply with both federal and state law.

An employer must also comply with applicable municipal law obligations affecting the employment relationship, in addition to complying with state and federal requirements.

EEO, Diversity and Employee Relations

Key Massachusetts requirements impacting EEO, diversity and employee relations are:

Fair Employment Practices

The Fair Employment Practices Law (FEPL), also known as Chapter 151B, prohibits employers with six or more employees from discriminating against current and prospective employees on the basis of protected characteristics, including:

The FEPL also prohibits sexual harassment and prohibits retaliation against individuals who oppose an unlawful practice, file a complaint or cooperate in an investigation.

Equal Pay

Massachusetts prohibits an employer from paying employees less than employees of the opposite sex for comparable work. The law also prohibits an employer from penalizing or in any way discriminating against an employee because the employee is seeking his or her rights to equal pay under wage and hour laws.

Wage differentials may be permissible if based upon:

An employer may not reduce the wages of any employee solely in order to comply with the law.

Discussion of Wages

The equal pay law prohibits an employer from requiring as a condition of employment that an employee refrain from inquiring about, discussing or disclosing information about the employee's own wages or any other employee's wages.

Pregnancy Accommodation

Amendments to the FEPL under the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (MPWFA) require an employer with six or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee's pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, including lactation or the need to express milk for a nursing child. A reasonable accommodation includes, but is not limited to:

Access to Personnel Files

An employer must provide employees with access to their personnel files within five business days of receiving the employee's written request. The employer is obligated to allow an employee access two times per calendar year.

The employer must notify an employee within 10 days after placing disciplinary information in the employee's personnel file, or information that negatively reflects on the employee's qualification for continued employment, promotion, transfer or increased compensation.

If an employee finds information that he or she believes to be untrue or inaccurate, the employee and employer may mutually agree to amend, revise or remove the information. If an agreement cannot be reached, the employee has a right to include explanatory information in the file.

An employer with 20 or more employees is required to keep certain information, if prepared by the employer, in an employee's personnel record. Such employers must keep complete personnel records for at least three years after the employment relationship ends.

Employees also have rights related to their own payroll records.

Whistleblower Protections

The False Claims Act prohibits employers from:

Be aware that where there is overlap between, federal, state and/or local law, complying with the law that offers the greatest rights or benefits to the employee will generally apply.

Recruiting and Hiring

Key Massachusetts requirements impacting recruiting and hiring are:

Criminal Checks

Any employer in possession of a job applicant's criminal offender record information must provide the individual with a copy of the record:

Employers that conduct five or more criminal background checks per year must maintain a written policy containing certain required provisions.

Ban the Box

An employer with six or more employees is prohibited from inquiring about a job applicant's criminal history on its initial written application form. Employers that are statutorily prohibited from hiring ex-offenders are exempt from this provision. An employer may inquire about criminal history later in the application process (e.g., in an interview).

Salary History Inquiry Restrictions

Massachusetts restricts an employer's ability to obtain a prospective employee's salary history when recruiting and hiring candidates. In particular, an employer is prohibited from seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee or current or former employer or requiring that a prospective employee's prior wage or salary history meet certain criteria. However, an employer may:

Be aware that where there is overlap between, federal, state and/or local law, complying with the law that offers the greatest rights or benefits to the employee will generally apply.

Wage and Hour

Key Massachusetts requirements impacting wages and hours are:

Minimum Wage

Under the Minimum Fair Wage Law, the minimum wage for most employees is $15.00 per hour. There are exceptions to the minimum wage law, and a separate minimum wage rate exists for certain employees (e.g., tipped employees).

Overtime

Nonexempt employees must be paid one-and-one-half times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a given workweek. Certain categories of employment and workplaces are exempt from the state overtime requirement.

Retail employers with eight or more employees must pay nonexempt employees at least one and one-tenths times their regular hourly rate of pay for work hours worked on Sundays and certain holidays. However, an employer may not require employees to work on Sundays or legal holidays, and an employee's refusal to work may not be grounds for termination, discrimination or a reduction in hours.

Meal Breaks

Employees who work a period of more than six hours are entitled to a 30-minute meal break for every six hours worked. This time can be paid or unpaid. Employees must be free to leave the premises and are allowed to pray during meal breaks. However, this law does not apply to certain types of employers (e.g., certain factory work) and where exemptions are granted by the Attorney General.

Child Labor

Child labor laws in Massachusetts restrict the occupations in which minors may be employed and the number of hours and times during which they may work.

All minors under the age of 18 are prohibited from working in certain occupations, including:

In addition, minors under the age of 16 are prohibited from working in a variety of other occupations such as in mercantile establishments, barber shops and public bowling alleys.

Whether or not school is in session, minors who are 16 or 17 years old may work:

Minors who are 14 or 15 years of age may not work during school hours and may work only between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. during the school year (to 9:00 p.m. from July 1 through Labor Day).

Minors who are 14 or 15 years of age may not work more than:

Minors working more than six hours during a calendar day must receive an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes.

Be aware that where there is overlap between federal, state and/or local law, complying with the law that offers the greatest rights or benefits to the employee will generally apply.

Pay and Benefits

Key Massachusetts requirements impacting pay and benefits are:

Payment of Wages

Massachusetts employers are required to pay wages by cash, or by check redeemable at face value without discount or deduction. State consumer laws permit mandatory direct deposit of wages, but only if the employee is permitted to choose the financial institution into which his or her wages will be deposited.

Pay Statements

Massachusetts employers must provide employees with a pay slip, check stub or envelope showing the employer's and employee's names, the pay date, the number of hours worked, the hourly rate and the nature and amount of deductions or increases made for the pay period.

Pay Frequency

Nonexempt employees who are paid on an hourly basis must be paid weekly or biweekly. Exempt employees may be paid biweekly or semimonthly, unless the employee elects to be paid monthly.

Wage Deductions

An employer may make deductions from an employee's wages if required by state or federal law or court order, with the employee's written authorization or for other permissible reasons, including but not limited to child support withholding, creditor garnishments and tax levies.

Health Care Continuation

Under the Massachusetts health care continuation law, group health policies issued to employers with two to 19 employees must include continuation coverage. Continuation coverage must be extended to employees and their covered dependents who experience a loss of coverage as a result of a qualifying event. Massachusetts law mirrors the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) with regard to qualifying events and timelines.

Be aware that where there is overlap between federal, state and/or local law, complying with the law that offers the greatest rights or benefits to the employee will generally apply.

Time Off and Leaves of Absence

Key Massachusetts requirements impacting time off and leaves of absence are:

Family and Medical Leave

The Massachusetts Parental Leave Act (MPLA) applies to employers with six or more employees or employers of domestic workers of any size. It provides for up to eight weeks of unpaid leave for:

Employees who are not domestic workers are eligible for the leave if they:

Paid Family Leave

Under the Massachusetts paid family and medical leave (PFML) law, employees are eligible to take up to 26 weeks of family and medical leave per year. PFML benefits are paid for by a combination of employer and employee contributions. PFML may be taken for the following reasons: