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

54 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. © 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP wage rates established by these statutes and the circumstances under which they apply differ. The employer must apply whichever law provides a greater degree of protection for the employee. 302 A. The Minimum Wage Rate in Massachusetts With certain limited exceptions, as of January 1, 2022, all Massachusetts employees must be paid a minimum wage of $14.25 for each hour worked. 303 Because the Massachusetts minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage, Massachusetts employers must comply with the state requirement unless employees are exempt from the Massachusetts minimum wage. 304 In fact, Massachusetts law provides that the Commonwealth’s minimum wage will always exceed the federal minimum by at least $0.50 per hour. 305 1. Coverage Under the Massachusetts MinimumFair Wage Law In Massachusetts, the minimum wage law covers any person working in an “occupation.” 306 The statute defines “occupation” as an “industry, trade or business . . . whether operated for profit or otherwise, and any other class of work in which persons are gainfully employed . . . .” 307 As discussed below, “occupation” is defined to specifically exclude certain types of work. The Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law applies to private employers of all sizes. 308 The statute does not include state or municipal employees—those employees are covered by the FLSA. 309 Some courts have held that the Massachusetts wage laws may apply to employees who work out of state if they have sufficient contacts with Massachusetts or if their employer is based in the Commonwealth. 310 302 The “workweek,” which is discussed in Sect ion I, forms the basis for determining an employer’s minimum wage and overt ime obligat ions. Under the FLSA, most court s have held that an employer need only pay it s employees an average of at least minimum wage for all the hours worked during the workweek. See United States v. Klinghoffer Bros. Realty Corp. , 285 F.2d 487, 489-90 (2dCir. 1960) (six unpaid hours per week did not const itute FLSA violat ion where average for all hours worked exceeded minimum wage), but see Norceide v. Cambridge Health Alliance , 814 F. Supp. 2d 17, 22-23 (D. Mass. 2011) (reject ing Klinghoffer rule in off-the-clock case by hospital employees). 303 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 1. The state minimum wage will increase to $15.00 in 2023. See St . 2018, ch. 121, §§ 17-21. See Sect ion I.D for a detailed discussion of how to determine the “hours worked” by an employee. 304 The FLSA set s the current federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. 29 U.S.C. § 206(a)(1), as amended by Pub. L. No. 110-28 § 8102. 305 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 1. 306 M.G.L. ch. 151, §§ 1-2. 307 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 2. 308 See id . 309 See Grenier v. Town of Hubbardston , 7 Mass. App. Ct . 911, 911 (1979) (holding that the Massachuset t sMinimum Fair Wage Law did not cover employees of the Commonwealth or it s polit ical subdivisions); DLS Opinion Let ter MW-2002-001 (Jan. 11, 2002) (opining that “M.G.L. c. 149, § 30B, not M.G.L. c. 151, § 1A, governs overt ime pay for state employees”); DLSOpinion Let ter MW-2002-004 (Feb. 13, 2002) (opining that Massachuset t s minimum wage law does not apply to municipal employees). See also Newton v. Comm’r of Dep’t of Youth Servs. , 62 Mass. App. Ct . 343, 350 (2004) (finding that M.G.L. ch. 151, the law governingminimum wage and overt ime, “does not apply toCommonwealth employees”). 310 See Dow v. Casale , 29 Mass. L. Rpt r. 132 (Mass. Super. Ct . 2011) (Massachuset t sWage Act covered employee working from his home in Florida because he maintained significant contact s with the Commonwealth), aff’d , 83 Mass. App. Ct . 751 (2013);