Best bet
Massachusetts wage & hour laws poster, Mass. Attorney General.
- Effective January 1, 2023, the minimum wage is $15.00 per hour and the service rate is $6.75 (applied to workers who provide services to customers and who make more than $20 a month in tips).
- The minimum wage applies to all employees except agricultural workers ($8.00 per hour is the minimum wage for most agricultural workers), members of a religious order, workers being trained in certain educational, nonprofit, or religious organizations, and outside sales people.
- The Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law does not distinguish between full-time or part-time employment, and both types of employees are covered by the law.
Massachusetts laws
MGL c. 41, § 108A Classification of positions; compensation plans; rules and regulations
In a 2002 Minimum Wage Opinion Letter MW-02-13-02, counsel for the Dept. of Labor Standards stated that municipal employees are excluded from the state minimum wage law (MGL c. 151), but are subject to the federal minimum wage law, referencing MGL c. 41, § 108A.
MGL c. 149, § 152A Service charges and tips; tips pools; penalties
MGL c. 151 Minimum fair wages
Section 1 sets the minimum wage at $15.00 in 2023. Section 2A sets the minimum wage for most agricultural workers at $8.00. Section 7 sets the minimum service rate for tipped employees at $6.75.
- MGL c. 151, § 9 Certificate authorizing employment at less than minimum fair wage rates
Massachusetts regulations
454 CMR 27 Minimum wage
The purpose of the regulation is to clarify practices and policies in the administration and enforcement of the Minimum Fair Wages Act.
- 454 CMR 27.06 (3) Employer minimum wage waivers: Special certificates
Federal laws and regulations
29 U.S. Code § 206 Minimum wage in the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009. While the minimum wage according to Massachusetts law is significantly higher than the federal minimum wage, Mass. General Laws c. 151, § 1 states "in no case shall the minimum wage rate be less than $.50 higher than the effective federal minimum rate."
29 CFR Part 541 Defining and delimiting the (overtime and minimum wage) exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, computer and outside sale employees
Selected cases
Capron v. Mass. Attorney General, 944 F.3d 9 (2019)
When a placement agency and host families challenged federal preemption of state minimum wage law, a federal appellate court ruled that domestic workers participating in an “Au Pair Program” administered by the U. S. Department of State in Massachusetts must be paid according to Massachusetts minimum wage and overtime laws, not the low Federal minimum wage.
Complaints and enforcement
File a wage complaint or dispute, Mass. Attorney General.
If you think an employer did not follow the law about minimum wage, you can file a complaint online.
Workers right to sue, Mass. Attorney General.
You have the right to file a lawsuit in a Massachusetts Court, as an alternative to filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division.
Forms
Employees with disabilities minimum wage waiver, Exec. Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
- You will also need: Application for authority to employ workers with disabilities at subminimum wages, U.S. Department of Labor.
Minimum wage and overtime waiver applications, Exec. Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Forms you will need to waive minimum wage or overtime.
Web sources
Federal minimum wage information, U.S. Department of Labor.
Includes links to federal laws and regulations, and web pages on a variety of minimum wage topics. "In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages."
Minimum wage and commission only employees, SLN Law.
A plan for calculating the minimum wage rate for employees who are paid by commission only, written by an employment lawyer.
Minimum wage and overtime information, Mass. Department of Labor Standards.
Includes basic, clearly-written, information about minimum wage and overtime in Massachusetts. Provides links to 2018 law changes, showing Basic Minimum Wage, Service Rates, and Sunday Holiday Premium Pay in 2019-2023.
Minimum wage opinion letters, Mass. Department of Labor Standards.
Fact specific interpretations of minimum fair wage law.
Minimum Wage Program, Mass. Department of Labor Standards.
Includes links to laws and regulations, forms, complaint information and more. Minimum Wage hotline: (617) 626-6951.
State minimum wage laws, U.S. Department of Labor.
Map providing click-on access to minimum wage law information for any state in the United States. Historical tables for 50 states are also available from the LaborLawCenter.
Topical outline of Massachusetts minimum wage and overtime law and related regulation, Mass. Department of Labor Standards, 2023.
This is an index of the laws and regulations in alphabetical order.
Wage and hour laws, The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division.
Links to learning about your rights on the job, including information about attending a free wage theft clinic to meet with lawyers and other advocates to learn about your rights, draft a demand letter, or prepare a small claims court complaint.
Print sources
Employment law, 3rd ed. (Mass Practice v.45), Thomson Reuters, 2016 with supplement.
Chapter 16:1: Minimum Wage.
Labor and employment in Massachusetts: A guide to employment laws, regulations, and practices by Jeffrey L. Hirsch, 2nd ed., Lexis Law Publishing, loose-leaf with supplements. (eBook available with library card)
Chapter 2: Hours of work and wages.
Massachusetts wage and hours handbook, MCLE, 2024.
Wages and hours: Law and practice, Matthew Bender, loose-leaf, updated with supplements. (eBook available with library card)
Chapter 4: Minimum Wage Requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Contact
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| Last updated: | March 6, 2025 |
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