Massachusetts Worker Rights
Massachusetts has a $15 minimum wage, paid sick time, a state paid family and medical leave program, and a strict Wage Act with automatic triple damages.
- Massachusetts
Pay
- Minimum wage: $15.00 per hour since 2023.
- Overtime: 1.5x over 40 hours a week.
- Final pay: on your last day if you’re fired or laid off; by the next regular payday if you quit.
- Wage Act: employers who pay late or short can owe three times the unpaid wages plus attorney fees.
- Prevailing wage and OSHA 10: required on public construction projects.
Breaks and leave
- Breaks: a 30-minute meal break for shifts over 6 hours.
- Earned sick time: 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year; paid at employers with 11 or more employees.
- PFML: a state program paying partial wages for family and medical leave.
Unions and right-to-work
Massachusetts is not a right-to-work state, so a union contract can require covered workers to pay at least a fee for representation. Private-sector workers have the right to organize under federal law. See Your Right to Organize.
Where to file
- Unpaid wages and overtime: Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division.
- Discrimination and harassment: Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), or the U.S. EEOC.
- Safety: Federal OSHA covers private employers. the Department of Labor Standards covers state and local government workers.
- Work injuries: report the injury to your employer right away, in writing, and follow up with Massachusetts’s workers’ compensation agency. See Workers’ Compensation.
Check current rules: this is a summary. Wage rates and labor laws change often, usually on January 1 or July 1, and cities and counties can add their own rules. Confirm details with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division before acting. Federal protections apply too. See Where to Get Help.
Standards & references
Last updated: