Massachusetts restaurant HR & payroll answers
General information about Massachusetts and federal rules, checked against the official sources linked under each answer on September 24, 2026. It is not legal or tax advice.
If you fire or lay someone off, you pay them in full on their last day. If they quit, you pay them in full on the next regular payday. An employee cannot agree to waive these deadlines.
In a restaurant this means the final check has to be ready before a termination conversation, not after it. The offboarding checklist sets out the steps.
Sources: M.G.L. c.149 §148 · Mass.gov: Massachusetts law about employment termination · Checked
Yes. Once you offer vacation, earned and unused vacation counts as wages and goes in the final paycheck on the same deadline, whether the employee quit or was fired, with or without cause.
Policies that forfeit earned vacation, for example unless the employee gives two weeks' notice, are not allowed.
Sources: M.G.L. c.149 §148 · Attorney General's advisory on vacation policies · Checked
No. Massachusetts earned sick time does not have to be paid out when an employee leaves. If sick time and vacation sit in one PTO bank, get advice, because vacation must be paid out.
Source: M.G.L. c.149 §148C (earned sick time) · Checked
Tips and service charges are due at the end of the day they were received, and the Attorney General treats them as on time if paid by the end of the pay period in which they were earned. Settle any tips owed with the final pay.
Source: Attorney General's advisory on tips (rev. 2026) · Checked
An employee who sues and wins is automatically awarded three times the late or unpaid wages, plus attorney's fees and costs. The court cannot lower it, and paying after the complaint is filed is no defense to the Attorney General's complaint.
This is why final pay is the most expensive place for a restaurant to make a payroll mistake. More on claims is on the wage complaints page.
Source: M.G.L. c.149 §150 · Checked
Within 30 days of any separation, temporary or permanent, give the employee the Department of Unemployment Assistance pamphlet "How to Apply for Unemployment Insurance Benefits" (Form 0590A), with your FEIN and mailing address written on it.
It applies whatever the reason for leaving. Hand it over in person if you can, and mail it only if necessary. The employer has to be able to prove it did this.
Sources: Mass.gov: Employer responsibilities in the unemployment process · M.G.L. c.151A §62A · Checked
Often, yes. Part-time workers can qualify, and someone fired for reasons other than deliberate misconduct or breaking employer rules may be eligible. The baseline is losing work through no fault of your own, earning at least $6,300 in the last 12 months, and being able, available and looking for work.
Wages from an employer the Department has certified as seasonal cannot be used to establish a claim, but that is a specific certification, not every restaurant with a busy summer. The Department of Unemployment Assistance makes the final decision, and its earnings figures change each year.
Sources: Mass.gov: Unemployment insurance eligibility · Mass.gov: Employer responsibilities in the unemployment process · Checked
A new employer (registered less than three years) pays 2.42% in 2026 on the first $15,000 of each employee's wages. After three years, the Department of Unemployment Assistance sets an individual rate each year.
The same bill carries the Workforce Training Fund contribution and, from the fourth year, the Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC): 0.12% in year four, 0.24% in year five and 0.34% from year six, on the same $15,000 base. EMAC does not apply in a quarter with fewer than six employees.
Sources: Mass.gov: Employer contributions to unemployment · M.G.L. c.151A §14 · Mass.gov: Employer medical assistance contribution (EMAC) · Checked
Yes. Within five business days of a written request, the employer must let the employee review their personnel record, and provide a copy on request, up to twice a year. You must also tell an employee within 10 days when you add negative information, such as a write-up, to their file.
Employers with 20 or more employees must keep the complete record for three years after employment ends. An employee who asks in writing for their own payroll records gets a copy within 10 business days.
Sources: M.G.L. c.149 §52C (personnel records) · 454 CMR 27.00: Minimum wage · Checked
Under the federal WARN Act, employers with 100 or more employees, not counting part-timers, must give at least 60 days' notice of a covered closing or mass layoff. Size thresholds and exceptions decide whether a particular layoff is covered, so get advice before announcing one.
Source: 20 CFR Part 639 (federal WARN Act) · Checked
Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel. These answers describe the rules; they don’t decide how they apply to your restaurant. Headcount, entity structure and the exact facts of a shift can change the answer, so confirm anything that affects pay with the agency, an employment attorney or your tax adviser.
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