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. | 25 compensate an employee who uses a company vehicle for ordinary commuting time, provided that (1) the vehicle is not more difficult to operate than a vehicle normally used for commuting; (2) “the employee incurs no out-of-pocket expenses for driving, parking, or otherwise maintaining” the vehicle; (3) the “travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer’s business”; and (4) the use of the vehicle is subject to an agreement between the employer and employee explicitly stating that ordinary commuting time is not compensable. 107 II. MANDATEDTIME OFF AND MASSACHUSETTS LEAVE LAWS Both Massachusetts and federal law require employers to allow employees time off for certain activities. This section, however, will focus on leave time specifically mandated by Massachusetts law. A. Time Off to Vote Under Massachusetts law, an employee in a manufacturing, mechanical, or mercantile establishment who is eligible to vote is entitled to time off to do so during the two-hour period after the polls open, if the employee requests the time . 108 Because most polling places open early in the morning, this type of leave is generally unnecessary. Employers need not pay employees for this time. 109 B. Court Appearances 1. Massachusetts Jury Duty Leave Massachusetts law prohibits the discharge of an employee for missing work due to service on a jury. 110 Employers must pay regular wages for the first three days of jury duty served by any regular employee, including any part-time, temporary, or casual employee. 111 The court presiding over the jury trial has the authority to excuse an employer from making these payments if the employer can show extreme financial hardship. 112 If an employer is excused, the court will award the juror reasonable compensation of $50.00 or less in lieu of wages for the first three days of 107 DLS Opinion Let ter MW-2007-001 (June 19, 2007) (cit ing guidelines from the Employee Commut ing Flexibility Act of 1996). The DLS has opined that where these requirement s are met , act ivit ies performed by the employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commut ing do not affect the non-compensability of the t ravel t ime. For example, where an employee services elect ronic equipment at customers’ facilit ies and t ravels to work sites in a company van equipped with part s and tools, the fact that the employee may place calls to the company dispatcher before t raveling to the work site and on occasion may load new part s into the van does not make t ravel t ime compensable. DLS Opinion Let ter MW-2003-006 (May 16, 2003). 108 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 178. 109 Office of Massachuset t s At torney General, Time Off to Vote (2016), available a t ht tp://www.mass.gov/guides/breaks-and-t ime- off (last visited July 16, 2021). 110 M.G.L. ch. 268, § 14A. 111 M.G.L. ch. 234A, § 48. 112 M.G.L. ch. 234A, § 49.