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. | 61 sweeping, garbage removal—the DLS narrowly granted trainee status because the program was “genuinely designed to ready the students for the workplace” ) 343 C. The Payment of Special Sub-Minimum Wages In addition to the exemptions to minimum wage, some employees may receive special sub- minimum wages under certain conditions. These employees include some tipped employees, certain student workers, and some disabled workers. 1. Tipped Employees Some employees who earn more than $20.00 per month in tips may be paid a wage, or “service rate,” of at least $5.55 per hour. 344 The amount of wages plus tips must meet or exceed the standard minimum wage. 345 As of January 1, 2019, an employer is expected to make this calculation at the completion of each shift worked by an employee. This service rate is discussed further in Tips and Service Charges, Section VIII. 2. Student Workers Under certain circumstances, student workers may receive as little as 80 percent of the Commonwealth’s minimum wage of $13.55 per hour (i.e., $10.80 per hour in 2021). 346 In order to pay this sub-minimum wage, an employer must first obtain a license, also known as a waiver, from the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development. 347 Additionally, to be eligible a student must fit into one of the following categories: • A student working in a hospital or laboratory as part of a formal training program • A student enrolled in a school, college, university, or bona fide educational institution , 348 who is also employed by that institution • A secondary school student working on a hospital ward, or in a school or college dining room or dormitory, if the organization qualifies as a non-profit under the Internal 343 Id . 344 See M.G.L. ch. 151, § 1, as amended through St . 2018, c. 121, § 22. The minimum “service rate” for eligible customarily t ipped employees will increase to $6.75 per hour by 2023. St . 2018, c. 121, §§ 22-26. The FLSA requires that the employee earn more than $30.00 per month in t ips. 29 U.S.C. § 203(t ). A t ipped employee may be paid $2.13 per hour under federal law, as long as he or she makes no less than the minimum wage. See id . 345 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 7. 346 The provisions of Massachuset t s law regarding sub-minimum wages for “student workers” are dist inct from and should not be confused with the t rainee/interns requirement s discussed above. 347 454 C.M.R. § 27.06(1). 348 A “bona fide educat ional inst itut ion” is one that is accredited by a recognized source. 454 C.M.R. § 27.02.