Massachusetts restaurant HR & payroll
Key Massachusetts restaurant labor laws (2026)
By Dan MurphyUpdated 7 min read
What labor laws apply to Massachusetts restaurants?
Massachusetts restaurants pay a $15.00 minimum wage, or a $6.75 service rate for tipped staff whose tips make up the difference. Only non-managerial service staff may share tips, and a 30-minute break is due after six hours. Fired staff are paid in full the same day. Restaurants are exempt from state overtime but not federal overtime.
These are the Massachusetts employment rules that come up most often in restaurants, with the figure, the date it applies from and the official page to check it against. Several work differently for restaurants than for other employers, starting with overtime.
This is reference material, not legal advice. Rules change, and whether one applies can depend on the facts at your restaurant, so check the linked source before relying on any figure.
How this list was put together
- Rules that affect a typical Massachusetts restaurant payroll or HR file, not every rule on the books.
- Every figure is from the official source linked under it, read on 2026-09-22.
- Federal law also applies, and where it goes further than state law the entry says so.
1.Minimum wage is $15.00 an hour
The Massachusetts minimum wage has been $15.00 an hour since January 1, 2023, and mass.gov still lists that rate for 2026.
Why it matters: every hourly rate and every tip-credit check is measured against this number.
2.The tipped service rate is $6.75, with conditions
Tipped staff can be paid a service rate of $6.75 an hour only if the employer informs them of the rule in writing, they receive more than $20 a month in tips, and their pay plus tips reaches at least the $15.00 minimum wage. If it does not, the employer pays the difference.
Voters rejected 2024 ballot Question 5, which would have phased out the lower tipped rate, by 64.1% to 35.9%, so the $6.75 service rate stays.
Why it matters: the shortfall check has to happen every pay period. A missed shortfall is unpaid wages.
Source: Mass.gov: Pay and recordkeeping
3.Restaurants are exempt from state overtime, but not federal
Massachusetts law excludes restaurant work from the state overtime requirement (M.G.L. c.151 §1A). The state's own guidance points out that restaurant employees are still covered by federal overtime law, so time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek still applies under the FLSA.
Why it matters: owners sometimes read the state exemption and stop there. The federal rule is the one that governs.
Source: M.G.L. c.151 §1A
4.Tips belong to the staff who earn them (the Tips Act)
Under M.G.L. c.149 §152A, tip pools can include only wait staff, service employees and service bartenders. Managers and owners cannot share in them, and neither can anyone with managerial responsibility on that shift. A service charge must go to the staff who provided the service. A house or administrative fee is allowed only if it is disclosed in writing as not being a tip. Tips must be paid out by the end of the same business day.
Why it matters: penalties include restitution with 12% annual interest, and staff have three years to bring a claim.
Source: Mass.gov: M.G.L. c.149 §152A
5.No Sunday or holiday premium pay
Massachusetts phased out premium pay for Sunday and holiday work, and it ended on January 1, 2023. It only ever applied to retail, and restaurants are a named exemption under the blue laws, so they can open on Sundays and holidays.
Why it matters: old handbooks and payroll settings sometimes still carry a premium the law no longer requires. If you still pay one, that is a policy choice.
6.A 30-minute meal break after six hours
Anyone working more than six hours in a calendar day gets a 30-minute meal break. It can be unpaid only if the employee is relieved of all duties and free to leave. If you ask them to stay on site or keep working, the break is paid.
Why it matters: a working "break" on a busy night is paid time and must be on the timecard.
Source: Mass.gov: Breaks and time off
7.Final pay is due on the last day for a firing
An employee who is fired or laid off must be paid in full on their last day of work. An employee who quits is paid by the next regular payday. Hourly staff must be paid weekly or every two weeks, within six or seven days of the end of the pay period.
Why it matters: same-day final pay is easy to miss when a termination happens mid-shift, so the final check has to be ready before the conversation, not after it.
Source: Mass.gov: Pay and recordkeeping
8.Earned sick time: 1 hour per 30 worked
Employees earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year. Employers with 11 or more employees must pay for it. Smaller employers must still provide it but can leave it unpaid.
Why it matters: seasonal hiring can push a restaurant over the 11-employee line, which changes whether sick time is paid.
Source: Mass.gov: Earned sick time
9.PFML contributions: 0.88% of eligible wages
For 2026 the Paid Family and Medical Leave contribution is 0.88% of eligible wages for employers with 25 or more covered individuals, and part of it can be withheld from employees. Employers with fewer than 25 remit 0.46%, all of which can come from employees.
Legislation passed in 2026 changes how the employer share is split from January 1, 2027. The 2027 rate is set each fall, so check the source before year-end.
Why it matters: the rate depends on your headcount, so recheck it when staffing changes.
10.Minors need permits and have hour limits
Every worker under 18 needs a work permit. Workers aged 14 and 15 can work only between 7am and 7pm during the school year (9pm in summer), and for no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week. Workers aged 16 and 17 can work up to 9 hours a day and 48 hours a week. In restaurants they can work until midnight before a non-school day, and until 10pm before a school day. After 8pm, an adult supervisor must be on site.
Why it matters: if you hire high school students, these limits shape the schedule, and the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division enforces these limits.
11.Three hours of reporting pay
If an employee is scheduled for a shift of three or more hours, arrives on time and is sent home early, they must be paid for at least three hours at minimum wage.
Why it matters: sending staff home on a slow night still costs three hours of pay.
Source: Mass.gov: Pay and recordkeeping
12.Report new hires within 14 days
Every new hire must be reported to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue within 14 days of their first day of work.
Why it matters: reporting is easy to miss in a week when several people start at once.
13.Keep payroll records for three years
Keep payroll records for three years: name, address, job, pay each period, and hours worked each day and week. If an employee asks in writing to see their personnel record, you must show it to them within five business days.
Why it matters: if records are missing, a wage claim is harder to defend.
Source: Mass.gov: Pay and recordkeeping
14.Pay ranges in job postings at 25+ employees
Since October 29, 2025, employers with 25 or more Massachusetts employees must include a pay range in job postings, and give it on request and when offering a promotion or transfer.
Why it matters: a restaurant group can cross 25 employees without noticing.
15.Workers' compensation is required from employee one
Every Massachusetts employer must carry workers' compensation insurance, whatever its size and however few hours its staff work. Operating without it can bring a stop-work order and fines.
Why it matters: a lapsed policy can shut down a restaurant.
Keeping on top of these
Most of these rules are checked at one of three moments: when someone is hired, when payroll is approved, and when someone leaves. Build the checks into those three moments and you rarely need to look anything up in a hurry. Our onboarding checklist, payroll approval checklist and offboarding checklist cover those moments.
Where to go next
- Massachusetts restaurant payroll basics: how these rules show up in each pay cycle
- Tipped payroll workflow: handling the service rate and tips week to week
- Massachusetts restaurant HR & payroll: how BOHO administers them
Keep reading
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