Massachusetts Mandatory Overtime Laws
Posted by Tamara
A unique feature of the Massachusetts overtime laws is that tipped employees, such as restaurant servers, must be paid one and one-half times the minimum wage, for every hour they work in excess of 40 hours in a single work week. This provision is much better than many other state laws such are Maryland’s, where tipped employees are not entitled to overtime under any circumstances.
Under the Massachusetts mandatory overtime laws, an employer may legally require an employee to work overtime. An employer may compel an employee to stay beyond their additional shift, or to come in on their usual days off – even Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. There is no requirement that the employer give the employee advanced notice that they will need to work overtime. There is also no limit on the number of hours the employee may be required to work.
The one stipulation to the Massachusetts mandatory overtime laws is that in most cases, the employee is entitled to overtime pay for any hours in excess of 40 in a single work week. This overtime pay is 1.5 times the employee’s usual hourly rate.
The Massachusetts state overtime laws exempt employees in many occupations from overtime pay. Caddies and newspaper carriers are exempt, as well as outside salespeople. Fishermen, apprentices and interstate truckers are exempt. So are employees of garages, amusement parks, and non-profit summer camps, as well as hospital employees, workers at senior citizen homes and employees of non-profit schools. None of these people must be paid overtime, unless they are covered by a federal overtime law such as the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) or FairPay.
Some of the salaries and duties in the Massachusetts state overtime provisions seem rooted in an earlier era. For example, janitors with living quarters who earn at least $30 per week, are exempt from overtime. So are executives or executive trainees who earn at least $80 per week. (If this is you, stay home and look for a better job!) Switchboard operators in a public exchange – presumably, those who work for the phone company – are exempt. (Does the phone company even have switchboard operators any more?)
Finally, any employee who is not subject to the state minimum wage, is also not entitled to overtime pay under the Massachusetts mandatory overtime laws.
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