Massachusetts: Pay Stub Requirements

Requirements one by one

The slip comes with wage payment

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148 requires the employer to furnish a suitable pay
slip, check stub, or envelope when paying the employee's wage. The statute does
not limit the rule by employer size or remove agricultural employees from the
statement paragraph.

Railroad corporations have an additional duty with each payment: current
accrued total earnings and taxes, plus daily wages and the method used to compute
those wages.

Names, calendar date, hours, rate, deductions, and increases are required

The general slip shows the employer's name, employee's name, day, month, year,
hours worked, hourly rate, and amounts of deductions or increases made for the
pay period.

The paragraph does not separately name pay-period beginning and ending dates,
employer address, employee number, Social Security number, gross wages, net pay,
deduction purpose, leave balance, tips, allowances, or employer contributions.
The bare day/month/year requirement should not be rewritten as two pay-period
dates the statute does not name.

Electronic delivery requires free printing

The Commonwealth's official pay-and-recordkeeping guidance permits electronic
paystubs as long as the employer gives the worker a way to print the information
for free. The guidance states no advance consent, paper opt-out, downloading,
saving, or minimum portal-duration rule.

Payroll records last three years and copies are due in 10 business days

For employers and employees within 454 CMR 27's minimum-wage scope, subsection
27.07(2) requires the detailed payroll record to remain on file for at least
three years after the record's entry date.

An employee requesting their own records must receive a copy within 10 business
days. On request, the employee may also inspect the original paper or electronic
records at a reasonable time and place.

Wage Act enforcement reaches section 148

Section 150 lets an employee aggrieved by a § 148 violation sue after filing an
Attorney General complaint and waiting 90 days, unless the Attorney General
assents sooner. The action must be within three years and may seek injunctive
relief and damages; a prevailing employee receives costs and reasonable fees,
while trebling is expressly tied to lost wages and other benefits.

Chapter 149, § 27C(b)(1) separately lets the Attorney General issue a warning or civil
citation, require correction or restitution, and assess up to $25,000 for each
violation. The cited provisions state no automatic flat private award merely
because one stub omitted a field.

What trips people up

The Massachusetts field list does not expressly say “gross wages” or “net pay.”
It instead names hours, hourly rate, and the amounts of deductions or increases.

Electronic delivery is not unconditional. The official guidance requires a
free way for the worker to print the information.

The regulation's payroll record is broader than the pay slip. A field retained
for enforcement is not automatically an additional field that § 148 requires on
the employee-facing slip.

Common questions

Must the slip name both the employer and employee?

Yes. Both names are express statutory fields.

How quickly must requested payroll records be copied?

Within 10 business days for an employee requesting the records that pertain to
that employee under 454 CMR 27.07(2).

Is every pay-slip violation automatically worth triple damages?

No. Section 150 ties treble damages to lost wages and other benefits. It also
allows injunctive relief and damages actually incurred, plus fees and costs for
a prevailing employee.

Statutes and sources

• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148. General and railroad statement timing and
  fields. Official text
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• 454 CMR 27.07(2); official pay-and-recordkeeping guidance. Three-year
  records, 10-business-day employee copies, inspection, and electronic free
  printing. Official regulation
  and official guidance
  (accessed July 13, 2026).
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, §§ 150, 27C. Private action, limitations,
  damages/fees, and Attorney General citations. Official § 150
  and official § 27C
  (accessed July 13, 2026).