Massachusetts Wrongful Termination Laws

Massachusetts not only enforces federal anti-discrimination and wrongful termination labor laws, such as the Federal Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, they have a wide range of state statutes supplementing those protections. As an “at will” employment state, both employers and employees have the right to terminate that work relationship at any time for any reason except those stated in state and federal laws. Those protections are powerful, and can be pursued by claims through state EEOC offices and civil rights agencies. However, if those claims are dropped or ineffective, employees and their employee rights lawyers may file private lawsuits.

Massachusetts’s Specific Labor Laws

There are a number of state statutes in Massachusetts which supplement federal laws protecting employees from wrongful termination and discrimination:

Benefit	State Law	Additional Benefits
Right to Work	No
State Minimum Wage	$7.50	Maximum tip credit $4.37; minimum wage for tipped employees $2.63
State Military Leave	Yes	U.S. reserves or state forces may take up to 17 days leave/year for training without affecting vacation, sick time, bonuses, or seniority; reinstatement is guaranteed; notice to employer of start and end date of service is required
Jury Duty	Yes	All full-time, part-time, and temporary employees working for 3 months prior to call; paid leave for first 3 days, after which state pays $50/day; if incurs “extreme hardship” on employer, state pays those wages
Voting	Yes	Unpaid time off for first 2 hours polls are open (for manufacturing, mechanical, or retail industries); leave must be requested in advance
Garnishment	Yes	Only for child and spousal support; fee of $1/pay period; employment protection is guaranteed
State Family & Medical Leave	Yes	Maternity & adoption leave for employers with 6 or more employees; applies to full-time female employees past probationary, or initial 3 month period; school activities leave for employers with 50 or more employees; FMLA eligible employees also eligible for state family leave protection; childbirth/maternity family leave, or for adoption of child under 18 (23 if disabled), entitled to 8 weeks leave; leave of 24 hours/year for school activities or to accompany minor child or relative 60 or older to medical/dental appointments
Arrest & Conviction Records	Yes	If job applications ask about arrests or convictions, must include standard statement (from statute) enabling applicant to answer “no record” for sealed records; prohibited from asking about arrests that did not lead to convictions; prohibited from asking about 1st offenses for drunkenness, simple assault, speeding, minor traffic violations, or disturbing the peace; prohibited from asking about misdemeanor convictions more than 4 years old
Discrimination	Yes	6 or more employees; age (40 or older); national origin; disability (physical or mental), HIV/AIDS; gender; marital status; race; religion; sexual orientation; genetic testing; military service; arrests
Whistleblower	Yes	Public employees; employee required to report violations to supervisor to allow them to correct unless supervisor knows of problem and emergency arises, employee fears physical harm from making report, or report includes evidence of criminal activity; civil action permitted within 2 years of incident
Plant Closings	Yes	For sale or transfer of ownership of business with 50 or more employees; must include permanent separation of at least 90% of employees within 6 months; employers must be receiving state assistance; employers must provide 90 days of group health insurance coverage at same terms as prior to closing; upon sale, new employer must provide severance equal to 2 weeks compensation for every year of service over 3 years to employees terminated within 1 year of sale; 90 day notice of closing required; employers with 12 or more employees must notify Director of Labor and Workforce Development concerning change of location; new owners of business with 60 or more employees must provide written employee rights within 30 days; reemployment assistance available through state agency; employees with more than 1 year service entitled to up to 13 weeks reemployment assistance benefits

*These laws change often, so consult local statutes for the most up-to-date information.

Massachusetts Discrimination Laws

Massachusetts has a significant legal interest in protecting employees from wrongful termination or discrimination. In addition to federal laws protecting employees from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, state laws provide additional avenues for employees to pursue compensation or remedies for unlawful employer actions according to the following provisions:

Private lawsuits for discrimination claims are preempted by state agencies
Employees may not pursue personal lawsuits after state agencies have processed discrimination claims
Employees may recover attorney’s fees from a defendant
The statute of limitations for discrimination claims is 300 days; 3 years for civil actions

Filing a Claim for Wrongful Termination

Massachusetts state law requires that all claims for wrongful termination or workplace discrimination be filed first through state EEOC or human rights offices. Those offices will investigate such claims, and if viable, pursue mediation or conciliation or, if appropriate, a lawsuit on behalf of the employee. If those processes fail, Massachusetts law allows employees to pursue their own private lawsuit.

Legal Remedies for Wrongful Termination

Agencies and employee rights lawyers may seek any or all of the following remedies, depending on the violation and the specific federal or state penalties:

Reinstatement of former benefits and position
Back pay
Compensation for stress and suffering
Injunctive relief in the workplace
Attorney’s fees and court costs
Punitive damages

Additional penalties enumerated in Massachusetts state law against employers include the following:

Garnishment – for child support, employer who terminates illegally liable for back pay and benefits, plus fines of up to $1,000; for failure to follow withholding order, liable for amount requested to be withheld or fine of up to $500, whichever is more

These legal options begin with claims through state EEOC and civil right agencies. The more complex the violation and claim, the more helpful it can be to have an employee rights attorney representing the employee. In such a case, if the agency resolutions are ineffective, the employee’s attorney will be prepared to file a private suit more quickly and represent the employee more effectively.

Local Resources

EEOC Regional Offices

Boston Area Office

John F. Kennedy Federal Building
475 Government Center
Boston, MA 02203
617-565-3200 or 800-669-4000
TTY: 617-565-3204 or 800-669-6820
FAX: 617-565-3196

Commission Against Discrimination

Boston, MA
617-994-6000
www.state.ma.us/mcad

Wrongful Termination Claim?