Massachusetts Employment & Wage Act Attorneys

State Anti-Discrimination Statute

G.L. c. 151B

G.L. c. 151B — race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex (incl. pregnancy and related conditions), gender identity, sexual orientation, age 40+, genetic information, ancestry, disability, military status, veteran status. Employers with 6+ employees; the Equal Rights Act (G.L. c. 93 § 102) reaches smaller shops for harassment.

Deadline to File Charge

300 days

300 days to file with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) under G.L. c. 151B § 5, work-shared with the EEOC. After 90 days at MCAD you may remove to Superior Court; the civil action must be filed within 3 years of the discriminatory act.

At-Will Doctrine

At-will

At-will with a robust public-policy exception (DeRose v. Putnam Management Co.; Smith-Pfeffer), plus statutory shields: Wage Act retaliation (§ 148A), the healthcare and public-employee whistleblower statutes (G.L. c. 149 §§ 185, 187), workers' comp retaliation (G.L. c. 152 § 75B), jury duty, and military service.

Non-Compete Enforceability

50%

Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act, G.L. c. 149 § 24L (agreements signed on or after October 1, 2018): garden leave at 50% of salary or other mutually agreed consideration, 12-month cap, 10 business days' advance notice in writing, void against workers laid off or terminated without cause, and wholly inapplicable to non-exempt employees, students, and workers under 18. Pre-2018 agreements remain governed by common-law reasonableness.

Minimum Wage & Overtime

$15.00

$15.00/hour (since January 2023); tipped service rate $6.75 with a tip-credit true-up. Overtime at 1.5x after 40 hours (G.L. c. 151 § 1A). Wage Act (G.L. c. 149 § 148): final pay due the day of discharge, mandatory treble damages, personal officer liability. PFML (G.L. c. 175M): up to 26 weeks combined paid leave. Earned Sick Time (G.L. c. 149 § 148C): 40 hours/year.

Typical attorney fee

33%

33%–40% contingency — no fee unless you win

Because Massachusetts gives workers weapons most states don't, and unrepresented people leave them on the table. Start with the Wage Act: every dollar of unpaid wages, earned commissions, or accrued vacation automatically becomes three dollars, plus attorney fees, and the SJC held in Reuter that paying late doesn't cure it — even a discharged employee's final paycheck is due the day of termination. Chapter 151B (G.L. c. 151B) bans discrimination at employers with 6+ employees across race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex and pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, age 40+, genetic information, ancestry, disability, military and veteran status — with no state cap on compensatory or punitive damages. The independent-contractor statute (G.L. c. 149 § 148B) presumes you're an employee unless the company clears all three prongs of a strict ABC test, and misclassification damages get trebled too. The Noncompetition Agreement Act (G.L. c. 149 § 24L) voids non-competes against anyone laid off or fired without cause and demands garden leave or other consideration. The catch: the 300-day MCAD deadline, the Attorney General filing prerequisite for Wage Act suits, and the procedural traps in between are exactly where self-represented claims die.