Pittsfield - Main Office7 North St, Suite 307Pittsfield, MA 01201413-418-4176, Springfield75 Market Place, Suite 312Springfield, MA 01103413-418-4176, Worcester1 West Boylston St, Suite 308Worcester, MA 01605508-556-9959, Lowell100 Merrimack Street Suite 205-FLowell, MA 01852978-364-7200, Fall River/New Bedford57 North Main St, 2nd FloorFall River, MA 02720508-556-9959, Cape Cod100 Independence Drive, Suite 7 #417Hyannis, MA 02601508-556-9959. The Blue laws include a requirement that all employees must be given one day of rest out of every seven, the prohibition of Sunday work for many employers (and the requirement of payment of time and one half to non-exempt employees who work in many retail businesses), and restrictions on most businesses from opening or employing workers on holidays (including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day (until 1 p.m.), Thanksgiving and Christmas). Massachusetts maintains laws, known as Blue Laws, that limit an employers ability to require employees to work on Sundays and some holidays. What is and is not a retail establishment is not always clear but includes (1) a store or shop that sells retail goods, (2) the retail sale of tobacco products, soft drinks, confectioneries, baby foods, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, dairy products and eggs, and the retail sale of poultry by the person who raises the same, and (3) the retail sale of drugs and medicines and the retail sale or rental of mechanical appliances prescribed by physicians or surgeons, and the retail sale of personal health and sanitary supplies. If an employer remains open on a holiday, the employer may, as a matter of policy, offer overtime compensation to a non-exempt employee. *Under Massachusetts law, if a permit is granted, time and one-half pay and voluntariness of employment requirements do apply. On April 19, 2021, Steffans Legal, along with Sommers Schwartz P.C., filed a wage-and-hour class action in the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of hourly employees of Cresco Labs. Premium pay required only if retailer employs more than seven (7) workers, including the owner. The minimum wage will go from $11 to $12 an hour, a result of a law passed last summer. Exempt employees may lose their exempt status if they are not compensated for a holiday. Assuming you are entitled Sunday pay (see above), your employer must pay you 1.3 times your regular rate during 2020, 1.2 times your regular rate during 2021, and 1.1 times your regular rate during 2022. Are Commissions Covered by the Massachusetts Wage Act? The premium pay requirement of the Massachusetts blue laws As of January 1, 2021, the Massachusetts minimum wage increased and changes to Sunday and holiday pay requirements took effect. On holidays, Massachusetts employers are subject to additional complex laws, commonly known as the blue laws, which restrict certain activities by retail and manufacturing businesses on Sundays and holidays. Non-exempt employees generally do not need to be provided with paid holidays. Do employers have to reimburse employees for uniforms? Are Commissioned Employees Entitled to Minimum Wage and Overtime Under Massachusetts Law? There are many exceptions to these closure laws but retail employers who are permitted to operate on a holiday are often required to offer premium pay on the holiday, and are not permitted to discipline or penalize employees who refuse to work on the holiday. Massachusetts law prohibits retail employers with more than 7 employees from requiring employees to workIndependence Day, Veterans Day before 1 pm, Christmas Day (or the following day if falls on Sunday), Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day before 12 pm, and Thanksgiving Day. However, on Juneteenth (as with Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day) businesses which qualify for certain retail exemptions to Sunday closing laws (including the exemption for general retail operations) and have seven or more employees must pay employees, except bona fide executive, administrative or On May 18, 2020, Steffans Legal filed a wage and hour class action in Worcester County Superior Court on behalf of current and former employees of Table Talk Pies located in Worcester, Massachusetts. the Blue Laws, and there are now fifty-five exemptions, that allow certain businesses to operate legally on Sundays and holidays. How do Blue Laws The Massachusetts Blue Laws contains specific requirements regarding pay for employees that work certain holidays or Sundays. Massachusetts law also prohibits these employers from disciplining employees because they refuse to work Sundays. Contact Steffans Legal today for a free consultation. Currently, that premium rate of pay is 1.3 times an employees regular rate. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The partially restricted holidays are as follows: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Second, the Blue Laws create some "partially restricted" holidays. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. 3. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled Changes in Massachusetts minimum wage and the blue law affecting premium pay for certain employees working on Sundays will go into effect on January 1, 2019. Each individual's facts and circumstances may differ from a subject referenced on this site. As part of this so-called Grand Bargain legislation (the Act), Massachusetts will incrementally raise the minimum wage from $11 to $15 an hour and eliminate the need for most retail employees to receive premium pay for work performed on Sundays and holidays. Currently, Massachusetts retailers must provide premium pay of 1.5 times the regular hourly rate to non-exempt employees who work on Sundays or certain holidays designated by state law. That first example could potentially cover a wide variety of establishments. The Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law does not require employers to pay a premium for weekend, holiday, or night work. These laws limit an employers capacity to require their employees to work on Sundays and federally-observed holidays. The Blue Laws are a collection of Massachusetts laws that establish a general rule that most employers may not be open for business on Sundays and certain holidays. Massachusetts celebrates holidays that are recognized by the federal government including Washingtons Birthday, Memorial Day and Independence Day. Many employers choose to offer paid holidays to their employees as a benefit, but this compensation is not mandated by federal law. Generally, if a retailer has more than 7 employees, the retailer must pay its workers premium pay for work done on a Sunday or Holiday. Your email address will not be published. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! These laws are enforced by the Attorney General's Office. Employees at those agencies are paid for those holidays. What are the Holiday pay laws in massachusetts? Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Massachusetts employers face additional blue law restrictions. Over the years, the Legislature has amended these laws to contain over 50 exceptions. With the holiday season fast approaching, employers should pause to review whether their holiday pay practices comply with federal and state laws. COVID-19 Alert: The American Rescue Plan Act Of 2021: What Employers Need to Know, Massachusetts Advances To Step 1 Of Phase IV; Replaces Travel Order With Travel Advisory: What Employers Need To Know Now, EEOC Issues New Employer Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines Private Employers Poised To Play Front Line Role in Governments Mass Vaccination Effort, Employment Law Round-Up: What Massachusetts Employers Need to Know For Q4 2020, DOL Updates FAQs on FFCRA Leave as a New School Year Approaches. Massachusetts Laws Regarding Server Minimum Wage, Tips, Tip Pools, and Service Charges. The holiday pay requirement for those holidays will be phased out entirely on January 1, 2023. The Blue Laws are a collection of Massachusetts laws that establish a general rule that most employers may not be open for business on Sundays and certain holidays. Holidays on which work can be performed only with a permit from the local police (If the permit is acquired an employee can be required to work and is only entitled to regular pay unless standard overtime or Sunday Blue Laws apply): Christmas; Labor Day; Thanksgiving; Columbus Day before 12:00 noon; Memorial Day; Veterans Day before 1:00 p.m. This summary is intended to provide a general overview to help The holiday premium pay requirement will be phased out on January 1, 2023 for these holidays. Are you working Sundays or holidays without receiving extra pay? On January 1, 2021, premium pay for these holidays will drop to 1.2 times the normal hourly rate. However, these existing rules still impose significant burdens on businesses that may include: closure, premium pay, and voluntariness of work requirements on December 26 Yes, your Massachusetts employer must pay you a premium for work performed on the following holidays, but only if you work in a retail establishment: New Years Day (or the day following if it falls on a Sunday), Memorial Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day(or the day following if it falls on a Sunday). Conversely, businesses permitted to operate on Sunday typi-cally may stay open on holidays. The Minimum Fair Wage Laws of Massachusetts do not require extra pay for holidays, night work or weekends; however, certain Massachusetts Blue Laws require a handful of retailers to pay premium for Sundays and certain holidays. The information on this website is for general purposes only. The Sunday pay requirement will be phased out entirely on January 1, 2023. Independence Day For certain holidays, it requires an employer to pay a premium rate of pay and prohibits employers from requiring employees to work on that day. v. The InStore Group, LLC, a Massachusetts court granted summary judgment in favor of a Plaintiff and a class of retail vendor associates claiming that they were misclassified as an independent contractors. Do employers have to pay for training time? Under the FLSA, employers are not required to offer paid holidays to non-exempt employees. Massachusetts employee rights do not distinguish between part-time or full-time Holiday Pay Laws. Massachusetts law prohibits all retailers from requiring employees to work New Years Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day and prohibits these employers from disciplining employees because they refuse to work these holidays. The Department of Labor Standards has authority over the statewide The Massachusetts Blue Laws, however, do require some retailers that employ more than 7 people to pay premium pay (not less than one and one-half times their regular rate) for Sundays and certain holidays. Recently, the Suffolk County Superior Court provided helpful guidance on the issue of whether bonuses are considered wages and covered by the Massachusetts Wage Act. On January 24, 2021, the Massachusetts legislature expanded restrictions on premium pay requirements to include New Years Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. A recent Massachusetts Superior Court ruling says yes. With respect to premium pay, the Massachusetts Blue Laws most commonly apply to retail workers. The holidays covered by the premium pay laws are New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus On these days, work may be performed without a permit, but the premium pay and voluntariness of employment requirements are applicable. An employer operating in violation of the Sunday or holiday work laws may be subject to a fine of not less than $20.00 and no more than $100.00 for a first offense, and a To learn more about partially restricted holidays, visit: [ mass.gov ]. Statements on this website are also not intended to create any promises of results. Unlike most of the European Union, the United States has no federal law requiring private companies to pay for national holiday time off (by law, all employees in the EU also get a minimum of 28 paid vacation days). The blue laws prohibit most retail businesses from opening or employing workers on legal holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Penalties for Violation of Sunday and Holiday Work Laws The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General is charged with enforcing the Blue Laws. Holiday Premium Pay for New Year's Day, Columbus Day before 12 p.m. and Veterans Day before 1 p.m.: January 1, 2019 1.5 times hourly rate; January 1, 2020 1.5 times hourly rate; January 1, 2021 1.5 times hourly rate; For more information about holiday pay or the Massachusetts blue laws, contact a member of the Employment Law Group. Exempt employees generally must be paid for days when the employer is closed due to a holiday. Nothing in Massachusetts law requires private employers to give employees paid time off for any holiday. Do employers have to pay for travel time? Massachusetts law also prohibits these employers from disciplining employees because they refuse to work these holidays. In Hogan et al. For Memorial Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day, your employer must pay you 1.3 times your regular rate during 2020, 1.2 times your regular rate during 2021, and 1.1 times your regular rate during 2022. Holiday Pay Boston Massachusetts Holiday Pay and Overtime Attorney in Boston, Massachusetts. Premium Pay for Sunday and Holiday Work. In some situations, particularly where employers are permitted to employ their employees on Sundays and/or holidays, employers ant to the Massachusetts blue laws are also prohibited from operating on these holidays. 2018 All Rights Reserved | Site by Fix8, Steffans Legal Files Class Action Against Cresco Labs on Behalf of Employees in Nine States Regarding Unpaid Wages, Massachusetts Court Narrows Employees Ability to Invalidate Class Action Waivers, Massachusetts Appellate Court Holds That Sovereign Immunity Bars Wage Claims by Court and Probation Officers, Steffans Legal Files Wage and Hour Class Action on Behalf of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Employees in Massachusetts Regarding Unpaid Holiday and Sunday Pay, Massachusetts Begins Phase Out of Premium Payments for New Year's Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, Massachusetts Amends Tips Act to Give Employers More Flexibility with Tips, Tip Pools, and Service Charges, Independent Contractors and the Gig Economy: Massachusetts Court Finds Employment Status, 2021 - New Year Brings Increase To Massachusetts Minimum Wage and a New Paid Holiday, Massachusetts Court Holds that a Bonus is Covered by the Wage Act, Steffans Legal Files Wage and Hour Class Action on Behalf of Table Talk Pies Employees in Worcester Regarding Time-Rounding Policy. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer to pay its employees only Massachusetts law prohibits retail employers with more than 7 employees from requiring employees to work Sundays. Unrestricted holidays work may be performed without a permit, and premium pay and voluntariness of employment requirements do not apply (with the exception of alcohol sales): Martin Luther King Massachusetts Blue Laws: Check Your List Twice to Ensure That Your Business is in Compliance Now that the holiday season is in full swing, many Massachusetts employers will find themselves asking whether or not they can, or should, remain open on major holidays and what their employees rights are concerning pay and On federally recognized holidays, federal and state offices are closed. However, certain Massachusetts retail employers are required by state law to offer premium pay to employees working on legal holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Again, nothing in federal law requires the employer to do so, as long as the employee has not worked more than 40 hours in that week. If, however, the company personnel policy identifies specific days as company holidays and provides premium pay for working on a holiday or provides the day off with pay, all employees must be treated in Restrictions on business openings on Sundays and legal holidays, commonly known as the Massachusetts Blue Laws, are enforced by the Attorney General's Office. The Massachusetts Blue Laws control hours of operation for certain businesses and require some businesses to pay extra compensation (known as "premium pay") on Sundays and some legal holidays. On February 2, 2021, Steffans Legal filed a wage and hour class action in Middlesex County Superior Court on behalf of current and former Massachusetts employees of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. In general, if an employer closes for a holiday, whether or not an employee must be compensated for that day will depend on whether the employee is classified as exempt or non-exempt under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Are you an employee living in Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Fall River, New Bedford or the Cape? Do employers have to reimburse for mileage? If an employer makes a deduction to an exempt employees salary for an absence caused by the employer or by the operating requirements of the business, including an absence caused by the business closure on the holiday, the employee will not be considered to be paid on a salary basis, and may lose his or her exempt status. The blue laws prohibit most retail businesses from opening or employing workers on legal holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, your Massachusetts employer must pay you a premium for work performed on Sundays but only if you work in certain types of retail establishments. The obligation to pay a premium for work performed on Memorial Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, Independence, Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day only applies to businesses with more than seven employees and does not apply to bona fide executive or administrative or professional persons earning more than two hundred dollars a week. Massachusetts' law recognizes numerous legal holidays and specifies what types of businesses can open and under what circumstances for each holiday. Based on the "grand bargain" law, premium pay on holidays and Sundays dropped to 1.2 times a worker's hourly rate in 2021 and will decrease to 1.1 times the normal wage in 2022. In other words, everyone gets paid for a days work unless you work for the state. If the holiday falls on a Saturday, it is celebrated on the preceding Friday and if it falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated on the following Also, in situations where employers are permitted to employ employees on Sundays or holidays, they may be required to pay those employee at a rate of 1 times their regular rate. The laws in Massachusetts governing work on Sundays and holidays, commonly referred to as the "Blue Laws," are complex. On holidays, Massachusetts employers are subject to additional complex laws, commonly known as the blue laws, which restrict certain activities by retail and manufacturing businesses on Sundays and holidays. In some circumstances, those laws require Massachusetts employers to pay certain Massachusetts employees extra, sometimes as much as time-and-a-half, for hours worked on certain holidays or Sundays. Are class action waivers signed by Postmates drivers enforceable? Assuming you are entitled holiday pay (see above), your employer must pay you 1.5 times your regular rate for work performed on New Years Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. Massachusetts has laws on their books known as Blue Laws. Do employers have to pay me for accrued vacation time when my employment ends? The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. SPECIAL RULES FOR RETAIL EMPLOYERS Premium pay requirement. State labor laws in Massachusetts for salaried employees cover areas such as overtime pay, minimum wage and pay frequency. - Answered by a verified Employment Lawyer. On January 14, 2021, Massachusetts expanded the definition of wait staff employees covered by the Massachusetts Tips Act. To avoid such problems, employers should generally pay exempt employees their regular salary for the workweek in which the employee performs any work, regardless of the business decision to close for a holiday. Do employer have to pay for on call time? Do employers have to pay for: Sleep Time, On Call Time, Off-the-Clock Work, and Breaks/Lunch Breaks? Regardless, the Sunday pay requirement only applies to retail business that employee more than seven employees and does not apply to bona fide executive or administrative or professional persons earning more than two hundred dollars a week. In Massachusetts, some holidays are partially restricted and businesses may still operate without a permit. The laws, which are interpreted and enforced by local courts and staff members at the Massachusetts Labor and Workforce Development office, are designed to ensure that salaried Yelling profanities at a participant or official at a sporting event -- unless you're In some circumstances, those laws require Massachusetts employers to pay certain Massachusetts employees extra, sometimes as much as time-and-a-half, for hours worked on certain holidays or Sundays. The minimum will go up 75 cents an hour every year until This means that the minimum wage such a worker can earn on a Sunday or holiday is $13.50 per hour. The holiday premium pay requirements for partially restricted holidays will be phased out between now and 2023. The Massachusetts Blue Laws contains specific requirements regarding pay for employees that work certain holidays or Sundays.
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