Conclusion of the Commonwealth Employee Referral Bonus Program

Bonus Program Conclusion

We appreciate the participation of employees in the Employee Referral Bonus Program, introduced in 2022. We continue to encourage employee referrals in general, as an excellent way to introduce great talent to the Commonwealth. However, please note that the bonus program is concluding and will not be available for jobs posted to MassCareers on or after March 1, 2024. 

Employees do not need to take further action for referrals that have already been submitted prior to March 1, 2024. These submissions will be evaluated and qualified in accordance with the program eligibility requirements outlined below.

Program Background

When the bonus program was available, Executive Department employees (excluding interns, contractors, MassHire Career Center employees, Human Resources personnel, employees who were family members, or employees who hired, participated in, or collaborated on the hiring process for a referred candidate), were eligible for a referral bonus of $2,500 when they referred a candidate through the MassCareers online system and through the job posting referral link, who met all of the eligibility requirements, and who was hired and remained employed full-time by the Executive Department during the nine month Employee Referral Program mandated probationary period. These qualifications for the bonus program only apply to referrals that were made for job posting before March 1, 2024 and that met all of the eligibility requirements, outlined below.

Eligibility Requirements: Only referrals made to job postings before March 1, 2024 are eligible for qualification

• In order to have qualified for the program, a referral must have been made through the MassCareers online system, by clicking on the 'Refer a Candidate' link, on the right side of the specific job posting, before the conclusion of the program for referrals made to job postings on MassCareers on or after March 1, 2024. The candidate must also have applied for the job posting using this link. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

• The Employee Referral Program became effective on June 15, 2022 and concluded for any referrals made to job postings on or after March 1, 2024. Any candidate application or recommendation submitted prior to June 15, 2022 or on or after March 1, 2024 is ineligible for the referral bonus.  

• The referral date of the candidate cannot be earlier than the date the job opening was posted, after the candidate was scheduled for their first-round interview (including phone screen), or after 14 calendar days from the candidate's submission.   
• Candidate must have applied within 14 (calendar) days of the referrer submitting a referral.
• Candidates must have used the link that is emailed to them to apply for the job. This link is auto-generated and emailed to the candidate by the MassCareers system, when the referrer uses the 'Refer a Candidate' link, on the right side of the specific job posting.
• The referring employee, and, the referred new hire must both remain employed by the Commonwealth for nine-months from the new hire's date of employment to be considered eligible for the referral bonus program. 
• If two or more employees referred the same candidate, only the first referrer would receive a bonus payment if all qualifications were met. 
• The candidates must have been hired to the exact requisition number, position and posting to which they were referred.
• The Commonwealth reserves the right to amend or discontinue the “Employee Referral Bonus” program at any time. Notice of changes or a discontinuation of the program will appear here. 
• Referral bonuses are subject to required taxes and withholdings.
• There are no limitations on the number of referrals an employee could have made.
• Employees cannot refer their family members defined as:  
  • A spouse or domestic partner 
  • Children (biological, adopted, foster, through legal guardianship or loco parentis, and/or stepchildren, including your domestic partner’s child) 
  • Parents (biological, adopted, foster, through legal guardianship or loco parentis, and/or stepparents, including your parent's domestic partner) 
  • A spouse or domestic partner's parents 
  • Grandchildren (biological, adopted, foster, through legal guardianship or loco parentis, and/or step-grandchildren, including your domestic partner's grandchild) 
  • Grandparents (biological, adopted, foster, through legal guardianship or loco parentis, and/or step-grandparents, including your grandparent's domestic partner) 

  • Siblings (biological, adopted, foster and/or stepsiblings).

  • Child or parent "in-laws" (Updated as of 2/28/24)

View Employee Referral FAQs