Massachusetts Labor Guidance
Free plain-English summaries of opinion letters, administrative policies, and interpretive notices from Massachusetts's labor agency, with the current status and the official source on every page.
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Minimum wage does not apply to work assignments in rehabilitation programs
DLS was asked whether work performed by people participating in rehabilitation programs at charitable, educational, or religious institutions is subject to the state minimum wage. DLS concluded it is …
DLS adopts the federal 'primary beneficiary' test for unpaid interns
The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division asked DLS whether the U.S. Department of Labor's newer approach to evaluating unpaid internships changes how Massachusetts' minimum wage law applies. DLS had…
Overtime for farm workers: distinguishing exempt harvesting from non-exempt post-harvest work
Following the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling in Arias-Villano v. Chang & Sons Enterprises that post-harvest tasks like cleaning, sorting, and packaging are not exempt "agricultural and farm work," DL…
Seasonal camp counselors no longer need a minimum wage waiver
DLS explained that a July 2017 amendment to the minimum wage law removed "seasonal camp counselors and counselor trainees" from the legal definition of "occupation," meaning camps no longer need to ap…
Respiratory therapists are not exempt professionals under the overtime law
An employer asked DLS whether a respiratory therapist working for a private company (not a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility) qualifies for the "professional employee" overtime exemption und…
State truck-driver overtime exemption is narrower than the federal motor-carrier exemption
An employer asked DOS (the Division of Occupational Safety) whether the Massachusetts overtime exemption for truck drivers, G.L. c. 151 §1A(8), applies as broadly as the federal motor-carrier exemptio…
Voluntary time off offered to exempt employees does not trigger reporting pay
An employer asked DLS whether its Voluntary Time Off (VTO) policy — under which employees who report to work may choose, entirely on their own initiative, not to work that day — triggers the "three-ho…
State overtime law adopts the federal "highly compensated employee" exemption
An insurance/financial services company asked DLS whether Senior Sales Representatives earning over $100,000 annually, who coach junior staff, help with hiring, and do sales/marketing work, qualify fo…
A seasonal amusement park may separately claim the seasonal-business overtime waiver for a winter attraction
A seasonal amusement park, already exempt from state overtime under the 150-day amusement-park exemption, asked DLS whether it could add a winter holiday light display without jeopardizing that exempt…
State hotel overtime exemption covers banquet servers working anywhere "in" hotel property
A law firm representing two hotel chains asked DLS whether banquet servers who work in hotels or on hotel property are exempt from state overtime under the "hotel, motel, motor court or like establish…
Seasonal business overtime waiver for a private club open 119 days a year
A private club open to members for 119 days a year (running a restaurant, bar, and sailing/tennis programs) asked whether it qualified for the seasonal-business overtime waiver under M.G.L. c. 151, §1…
Bona fide teachers may be paid hourly and keep their overtime exemption
A trade-school operator asked DLS whether a "teaching professional" could be paid on an hourly basis and still qualify as an exempt professional employee under the state overtime law. DLS concluded th…
Dock loader who rides trucks to check freight safety is an exempt 'driver's helper'
An employer asked whether a dock loader who primarily loads and unloads trucks, but also rides a short distance with the driver to check freight for safety, is exempt from state overtime as a "driver …
Students in a disabilities vocational-training placement are not covered employees
A high school asked DLS whether students with developmental disabilities placed at local businesses through its Community Based Vocational Training Program are "employees" covered by the state minimum…
Electronic order transmissions don't defeat the outside-salesperson overtime exemption
An employer asked two sets of questions about state overtime exemptions: whether its outside salespersons' daily electronic transmission of orders and attendance at weekly sales meetings would defeat …
Dock workers who load trucks are 'loaders,' not exempt truck 'helpers' — reconsideration denied
Following DLS's February 26, 2002 opinion that a "truck loader/dock worker" likely isn't exempt from overtime, an employer's counsel asked DLS to reconsider as applied to specific dock workers who loa…
Car dealership repair mechanics qualify for the 'garageman' overtime exemption
An employer asked whether hourly wage mechanics working at car dealerships qualify for the overtime exemption for a "garageman" under M.G.L. c. 151, §1A(15), a term the statute leaves undefined. DLS a…
The truck-driver overtime exemption doesn't reach a truck loader/dock worker
An employer asked whether its overtime exemption for truck drivers, M.G.L. c. 151, §1A(8), covers an employee working as a "truck loader/dock worker." DLS explained the state exemption tracks a federa…
Case managers at an alcohol/drug treatment center likely aren't exempt professionals
An alcohol/drug treatment center asked whether its case managers are exempt "professionals" under the minimum wage law, and separately whether the facility qualifies for the sanitorium overtime exempt…
Northeastern co-op students are exempt as trainees, not covered employees
An employer providing physical therapy services asked whether students it employed through Northeastern University's Cooperative Education Program are covered employees or exempt trainees. DLS conclud…
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These are official interpretive documents from Massachusetts's labor agency: opinion letters answering questions from employers and workers, administrative policies, and interpretive notices. They show how the agency applies wage-and-hour and workplace law to real situations, but they are guidance, not statutes or court decisions, and the agency can supersede or withdraw them. Every page above shows the document's current status, when that status was last verified, and a link to the official source.