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

2 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. © 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP I. HOURS OF WORK A. The Workweek Both Massachusetts and federal wage and hour law use the “workweek” as a basic unit of measurement. The workweek consists of seven consecutive twenty-four hour periods and can begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day. 1 Once an employee’s workweek is established it remains fixed regardless of the schedule worked by the employee. Any change to the workweek is permitted only when the change is meant to be permanent and is not undertaken to evade overtime payments. 2 B. Sunday and Holiday Work The laws in Massachusetts governing work on Sunday and holidays, commonly referred to as the “Blue Laws,” are set forth in a complex statutory framework that can be difficult to interpret and that causes much confusion among employers. Although initially very restrictive, the Blue Laws now include many exceptions to the prohibition of Sunday work. 1. Default “Closure Rule” Often employers believe that the Blue Laws mandate a premium pay requirement and the only issue to resolve is whether the employer’s business falls under that requirement (i.e., premium pay). Instead, the Blue Laws are in essence business closure laws, and the first issue that an employer must address is whether it is allowed to operate on Sunday. Understanding the original purpose of the Blue Laws may resolve some of the confusion regarding this issue. The Blue Laws originated in the late 17th century to restrict all Sunday activities. Over time, some of the Massachusetts restrictions on Sunday activity eased (for example, it became legal to operate an ice creamparlor on Sunday in 1902, to engage in unpaid gardening in one’s yard in 1930, and to dance at a Sunday wedding in 1955), but Massachusetts maintains a broad prohibition against operating a business on Sundays and certain holidays, which, to many, seems out of sync with the modern world. Even today, the default rule imposed in Massachusetts states that “[w]hoever on Sunday keeps open his shop, warehouse, factory or other place of business, or sells foodstuffs, goods, wares, merchandise or real estate, or does any manner of labor, business or work, except works of necessity and charity” is in violation of the Blue Laws. 3 1 See Massachuset t s Department of Labor Standards (DLS) (formerly known asMassachuset t s Department of Labor, Division of Occupat ional Safety) Opinion Let ter MW-2008-005 (July 21, 2008) (looking to definit ion of “workweek” under federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)). Note that employees working for the same employer, even with the same or similar job t it les, may have different workweeks. Thus, formally establishing each employee’s workweek is most important since this determines (1) whether each employee has been compensated at no less than minimum wage; and (2) when the employer owes individual employees overt ime. These two issues are addressed in Sect ions IV and V. 2 29 C.F.R. § 778.105. 3 M.G.L. ch. 136, § 5.