10 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. © 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP expense reimbursement arrangement would not typically constitute a violation of the Wage Act because the reimbursement is not compensation “earned” by “labor, service or performance,” it stressed that the Wage Act prohibits an employer from exempting itself from timely and complete payment of wages by “special contracts . . . or by any other means.”51 According to the court, the plaintiff’s complaint fairly alleged that the employer implemented a practice that “required the [plaintiff], under penalty of discharge, to advance, indefinitely, expenses for the employer’s benefit” and that “this was a sufficient allegation of ‘reasonable belief’” that the unreimbursed expenses fell within the scope of wages covered by the Wage Act.52 B. Frequency and Timing of Payment 1. How Frequently Must Wages Be Paid? In general, Massachusetts employers must pay hourly employees on a weekly or biweekly basis.53 Employers that decide to switch from a weekly to biweekly pay period must provide employees with ninety days’ advance written notice of the change.54 Employers may pay exempt and salaried non-exempt employees biweekly or semi-monthly—or, at an employee’s option, monthly.55 In addition, employers may pay agricultural employees monthly.56 2. When Must Wages Be Paid? For both exempt and non-exempt employees, Massachusetts law requires employees to be paid their wages—including overtime—within six days of the pay period in which the wages were earned.57 Thus, if a pay period ends on a Saturday, employees must receive all wages earned during that pay period, including overtime, by the following Friday. The statute does provide for payment of wages within seven days under certain circumstances, including if the employee is employed seven days in a calendar week or works for a period of less than five days.58 However, those circumstances are rare and may in fact present additional problems for the employer under other Massachusetts laws. For example, if an employee typically works fewer than five days but picks up additional shifts, an employer will have to monitor this and potentially alter an employee’s pay day. If an employee works seven days in a 1:22-CV-12051-IT, 2024 WL 1375971, *5 (D. Mass. Mar. 29, 2024) (“Requiring employees to front employee expenses, including travel expenses, can constitute wage reductions under the Wage Act.”) (citing Furtado, 2020 WL 996849, at *4-5). 51 Fraelick, 83 Mass. App. Ct. at 706-08. 52 Id. at 708; see also Garcia v. Right at Home, Inc., No. SUCV20150808BLS2, 2016 WL 3144372, *4 (Mass. Super. Jan. 19, 2016) (citing Fraelick for the proposition that the Wage Act “prevent[s] an employer from effectively reducing wages by shifting ordinary business costs to the employee”). 53 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148. 54 Id. 55 Id. 56 Id. 57 Id. 58 Id.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTkwMTQ4