Massachusetts Labor Guidance
Free plain-English summaries of opinion letters, administrative policies, and interpretive notices from Massachusetts's labor agency, with the current status and the official source on every page.
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Minimum wage for tipped employees who also do non-tip work in the same shift
DLS addressed how to pay tipped employees who also perform non-tip work (like kitchen prep or cleaning) during the same shift. It concluded that while the service rate plus tips can satisfy minimum wa…
Minimum wage does not apply to work assignments in rehabilitation programs
DLS was asked whether work performed by people participating in rehabilitation programs at charitable, educational, or religious institutions is subject to the state minimum wage. DLS concluded it is …
DLS adopts the federal 'primary beneficiary' test for unpaid interns
The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division asked DLS whether the U.S. Department of Labor's newer approach to evaluating unpaid internships changes how Massachusetts' minimum wage law applies. DLS had…
Overtime for farm workers: distinguishing exempt harvesting from non-exempt post-harvest work
Following the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling in Arias-Villano v. Chang & Sons Enterprises that post-harvest tasks like cleaning, sorting, and packaging are not exempt "agricultural and farm work," DL…
Seasonal camp counselors no longer need a minimum wage waiver
DLS explained that a July 2017 amendment to the minimum wage law removed "seasonal camp counselors and counselor trainees" from the legal definition of "occupation," meaning camps no longer need to ap…
Wanting a higher wage above minimum wage isn't a protected complaint under the minimum wage law
An attorney asked DLS whether an employee fired after complaining that his pay wasn't high enough — even though it exceeded the statutory minimum wage — could bring a retaliation claim under the Minim…
Janitors and caretakers of residential property must get at least the basic minimum wage
DLS was asked whether summer camps may pay janitors and caretakers less than minimum wage. DLS answered no: although the law lets the DLS Director set special wage rates for certain job categories, th…
Unpaid internships at a nonprofit workforce-development program are not covered "occupation"
A nonprofit youth workforce-development organization asked DLS whether its unpaid internship program — an educational track combining classroom instruction with hands-on placements at corporate partne…
Unpaid pre-employment screening program for personal care attendants held not compensable
A home care company asked the Division of Occupational Safety whether it must pay applicants for attending a four-day, unpaid pre-employment screening program required before becoming a personal care …
Banquet service charges cannot substitute for minimum wage, only for the service rate
A hotel asked DLS whether a compulsory banquet service charge, paid in full to servers and bartenders in lieu of tips, can satisfy the entire minimum wage owed to those employees. DLS concluded that u…
Untipped wait staff in training must get full minimum wage, not the service rate
A restaurant asked whether it could pay newly-hired wait staff the reduced $2.63 service rate during an initial training period in which they earn no tips. DLS concluded that untipped trainees aren't …
Paying psychiatric patients $6/hour cleaning crew requires a sub-minimum wage waiver
A non-profit hospital asked whether it could pay $6.00 per hour to psychiatric patients who perform cleaning and maintenance work as part of a rehabilitation program, work that had previously been don…
Distinguishing a covered employee from a bona fide volunteer
Given a hypothetical where a worker was pressured into nine months of full-time unpaid "volunteer" work — performing the same duties as paid case managers, under threat that her employer would withdra…
A live-in home health aide is covered by state minimum wage and overtime law regardless of federal exemptions
An employer asked whether Massachusetts minimum wage and overtime law applies to a live-in home health aide caring for an elderly client with multiple health conditions, performing duties like bathing…
A nonprofit's job-readiness construction training program is exempt from the wage law
A registered nonprofit charity asked whether participants in its 10-month job-readiness and construction-skills program — which pairs supervised construction work with GED preparation and pays a flat …
School bus drivers on non-reimbursed charter trips are owed the statutory minimum wage
A school bus company asked what minimum wage applies to drivers on three kinds of charter trips: adult passengers on charters outside the school district, students on trips not approved by the school …
Students in a residential school's vocational training programs aren't covered by the wage law
A private, for-profit residential school for children with emotional or behavioral problems asked whether two of its vocational training programs — a culinary-arts/food-service program and an "on-camp…
The state minimum wage law does not cover municipal employees
A resident forwarded a question through the Attorney General's Office asking whether the state minimum wage law applies to town employees. DLS explained that the Minimum Fair Wage Law's "occupation" d…
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These are official interpretive documents from Massachusetts's labor agency: opinion letters answering questions from employers and workers, administrative policies, and interpretive notices. They show how the agency applies wage-and-hour and workplace law to real situations, but they are guidance, not statutes or court decisions, and the agency can supersede or withdraw them. Every page above shows the document's current status, when that status was last verified, and a link to the official source.