Pay Stub Requirements in Massachusetts

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The slip comes with wage payment

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148 requires the employer to furnish a suitable pay slip, check stub, or envelope when paying the employee's wage. The statute does not limit the rule by employer size or remove agricultural employees from the statement paragraph.

Railroad corporations have an additional duty with each payment: current accrued total earnings and taxes, plus daily wages and the method used to compute those wages.

Names, calendar date, hours, rate, deductions, and increases are required

The general slip shows the employer's name, employee's name, day, month, year, hours worked, hourly rate, and amounts of deductions or increases made for the pay period.

The paragraph does not separately name pay-period beginning and ending dates, employer address, employee number, Social Security number, gross wages, net pay, deduction purpose, leave balance, tips, allowances, or employer contributions. The bare day/month/year requirement should not be rewritten as two pay-period dates the statute does not name.

Electronic delivery requires free printing

The Commonwealth's official pay-and-recordkeeping guidance permits electronic paystubs as long as the employer gives the worker a way to print the information for free. The guidance states no advance consent, paper opt-out, downloading, saving, or minimum portal-duration rule.

Payroll records last three years and copies are due in 10 business days

For employers and employees within 454 CMR 27's minimum-wage scope, subsection 27.07(2) requires the detailed payroll record to remain on file for at least three years after the record's entry date.

An employee requesting their own records must receive a copy within 10 business days. On request, the employee may also inspect the original paper or electronic records at a reasonable time and place.

Wage Act enforcement reaches section 148

Section 150 lets an employee aggrieved by a § 148 violation sue after filing an Attorney General complaint and waiting 90 days, unless the Attorney General assents sooner. The action must be within three years and may seek injunctive relief and damages; a prevailing employee receives costs and reasonable fees, while trebling is expressly tied to lost wages and other benefits.

Chapter 149, § 27C(b)(1) separately lets the Attorney General issue a warning or civil citation, require correction or restitution, and assess up to $25,000 for each violation. The cited provisions state no automatic flat private award merely because one stub omitted a field.

What trips people up

The Massachusetts field list does not expressly say “gross wages” or “net pay.” It instead names hours, hourly rate, and the amounts of deductions or increases.

Electronic delivery is not unconditional. The official guidance requires a free way for the worker to print the information.

The regulation's payroll record is broader than the pay slip. A field retained for enforcement is not automatically an additional field that § 148 requires on the employee-facing slip.

Common questions

Must the slip name both the employer and employee?

Yes. Both names are express statutory fields.

How quickly must requested payroll records be copied?

Within 10 business days for an employee requesting the records that pertain to that employee under 454 CMR 27.07(2).

Is every pay-slip violation automatically worth triple damages?

No. Section 150 ties treble damages to lost wages and other benefits. It also allows injunctive relief and damages actually incurred, plus fees and costs for a prevailing employee.

Statutes and sources

• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148. General and railroad statement timing and fields. Official text (accessed July 13, 2026).
• 454 CMR 27.07(2); official pay-and-recordkeeping guidance. Three-year records, 10-business-day employee copies, inspection, and electronic free printing. Official regulation and official guidance (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, §§ 150, 27C. Private action, limitations, damages/fees, and Attorney General citations. Official § 150 and official § 27C (accessed July 13, 2026).