© 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. | 27 1. Tipped Employees Some employees who earn more than $20.00 per month in tips may be paid a wage, or “service rate,” of at least $6.75 per hour.155 The amount of wages plus tips must meet or exceed the standard minimum wage.156 Effective January 1, 2019, an employer is expected to make this calculation at the completion of each shift worked by an employee. This service rate is discussed further in Tips and Service Charges, Section VI. 2. Student Workers Under certain circumstances, student workers may receive as little as 80 percent of the Commonwealth’s minimum wage of $15 per hour (i.e., $12 per hour in 2025).157 In order to pay this sub-minimum wage, an employer must first obtain a license, also known as a waiver, from the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development.158 Additionally, to be eligible a student must fit into one of the following categories: A student working in a hospital or laboratory as part of a formal training program A student enrolled in a school, college, university, or bona fide educational institution,159 who is also employed by that institution A secondary school student working on a hospital ward, or in a school or college dining room or dormitory, if the organization qualifies as a non-profit under the Internal Revenue Code and maintains a ratio of one minor to five adults working in those areas160 Prior to July 2017, a seasonal camp could apply for a complete minimum wage exemption (rather than a waiver to pay 80 percent of the minimum wage) for counselors and counselor trainees.161 However, the minimum wage law was amended to end the need for a camp to apply for a waiver and to exclude “seasonal camp counselors and counselor trainees” from the minimum wage law.162 155See M.G.L. ch. 151, § 7. The FLSA requires that the employee earn more than $30.00 per month in tips. 29 U.S.C. § 203(t). A tipped employee may be paid $2.13 per hour under federal law, as long as he or she makes no less than the minimum wage. See id. 156 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 7. 157 The provisions of Massachusetts law regarding sub-minimum wages for “student workers” are distinct from and should not be confused with the trainee/interns requirements discussed above. 158 454 C.M.R. § 27.06(1). 159 A “bona fide educational institution” is one that is accredited by a recognized source. 454 C.M.R. § 27.02. 160 454 C.M.R. § 27.06 (1). 161 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 7. See also DLS Opinion Letter MW-2015-01 (Jan. 7, 2015), rescinded by DLS Opinion Letter MW-20181-23-18 (Jan. 23, 2018). 162 M.G.L. ch. 151, § 7; DLS Opinion Letter MW-2018-1-23-18 (Jan. 23, 2018).
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