124 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. © 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP The “transportation of food” The “sale or delivery of food by or in establishments other than restaurants”722 Employees whose duties include no work on Sunday other than the following are also exempted: Janitorial work Caring for machinery Caring for live animals The preparation, printing, publishing, selling, or delivering of newspapers The provision of farm or personal service The setting of sponges in bakeries “[A]ny labor called for by an emergency that could not reasonably have been anticipated” The work of “pharmacists employed in drug stores”723 Under special circumstances, the Attorney General may also grant an exemption to the One Day of Rest in Seven statute for a period not to exceed sixty days.724 4. Penalties for Violation Employers that violate the One Day of Rest in Seven or the Sunday Work Without a Day Off statutes are subject to a fine of not more than $300.00.725 The statutes do not provide for a private right of action.726 722 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 49. There are other One Day of Rest in Seven provisions specific to certain industries. For example, M.G.L. ch. 160, § 184 provides that certain railway employees “shall be allowed two days of twenty-four hours each in every month for rest with regular compensation,” except during “extraordinary” emergencies. 723 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 50. 724 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 51A. 725 M.G.L. ch. 149, §§ 47-48. 726 See Drexler v. Tel Nexx, Inc., 125 F. Supp. 3d 361, 377 (D. Mass. 2015) (holding that the One Day of Rest in Seven statute does not allow for a private right of action). However, as with the Blue Laws, an employee may sue for retaliation if an employer terminates the employee’s employment, or otherwise takes action against the employee for refusing to work seven consecutive days. See Bujold, 2007 WL 4415635, at *13.
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