Mass-Peculiarities: An Employers Guide to Wage & Hour Law in the Bay State 2022 Edition

© 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. | 139 Sunday, it must first post a list of employees who will work that day. 801 The list must specify which alternate day of rest those employees will receive, and it must be on display in a conspicuous location. 802 Employers may not require or allow employees to work on those designated days of rest. 803 C. Posting Work Hours for Minor Employees Employers of minors must post each minor’s weekly schedule in a conspicuous location within the minor’s work area. 804 The posted schedule must indicate the start and stop times for each day of work, the total hours worked per day, the precise times of meal breaks each day, and the total number of work hours for the week. 805 An employer may not change this schedule once the workweek has begun without the Attorney General’s written consent, and employers may not permit or require minors to work during their scheduled time off for that week. 806 D. Posting the Special Minimum Wage Paid to Employees with Disabilities Both Massachusetts and federal law allow employers to pay a special, lower minimum wage to workers with disabilities. 807 This group includes those whose “productive capacity” is impaired by physical or mental disability, age, or injury. 808 In order to qualify for the special minimum wage, an employer must first obtain a certificate issued by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Health and Human Services. 809 After receiving the Commissioner’s permission, the employer must post a notice from the DOL explaining the special minimum wage. 810 The poster—which is also available in Braille and in audio form—must be displayed in an area of the workplace that is readily visible to the disabled employees, their parents or guardians, and other workers. 811 The poster explains that employers must review special wages at least every six months and Sunday other than set ting sponges in bakeries; caring for live animals; caring for machinery; employees engaged in the preparat ion, printing, publicat ion, sale, or delivery of newspapers; farm or personal service employees; and any employee called for service by an emergency; and pharmacist s employed in drug stores). 801 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 51 (this also includes employers affected by M.G.L. ch. 149, § 50, discussed in Sect ion I.C). 802 Id . 803 Id . 804 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 74. 805 Id. 806 Id. 807 29 C.F.R. § 525.1; M.G.L. ch. 151, § 9. 808 Disabilities Poster , supra note 360. 809 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 9. 810 29 C.F.R. § 525.14. 811 Id . Where an employer finds it inappropriate to post such a not ice, the employer may sat isfy this requirement by providing the poster direct ly to all employees subject to it s terms.