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Cheatography

Massachusetts Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Massachusetts State Law

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Arrests & Convic­tions

Employer w/ 6 or + Employees Prohibited From:
Job applicants about their criminal history, any felony or misdem­eanor convic­tions, arrests or detentions without convic­tions, first convic­tions for certain misdem­eanors, misdem­eanors with convic­tions or incarc­era­tions over three years old, sealed or juvenile records, and sealed or expunged criminal records prior to an interview.

Child Labor

Under 14
14-15
16-17
Employment is largely prohib­ited, with exceptions like babysi­tting, news carriers, farm work, and entert­ainment with a special permit.
They may not work during school hours, more than 3 hours per day during school weeks, more than 8 hours per day during weeks when school is not in session, more than 18 hours per week during school weeks, or more than 40 hours per week when school is not in session. They are also prohibited from operating machinery and working in manufa­ctu­ring, which would likely include most tasks in a salvage yard.
May work up to 9 hours per day, 48 hours per week, and 6 days per week. They may not work between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., except under certain condit­ions. They are prohibited from driving work vehicles, operating certain machinery, working in certain industries such as manufa­cturing or storing explos­ives, working in excava­tion, wrecking, demoli­tion, or shipbr­eaking, and working in logging, sawmil­ling, or mining. These restri­ctions would likely prohibit them from performing many tasks in a salvage yard, partic­ularly those involving heavy machinery or potent­ially hazardous materials.
 

Deductions

Permis­sible Deductions
Prohibited Deductions
In Massac­hus­etts, employers can make certain deductions from an employee's wages, provided they are in accordance with a written request made by the employee. These include deductions for union dues, credit union deposits or loan repaym­ents, contri­butions to non-profit hospital service corpor­ations, medical service corpor­ations, charitable corpor­ations, and payments or contri­butions towards insurance policies, government bonds, or employee stock purchase plans.
There are also certain deductions that are prohibited by law. These include deductions for coming late to work, medical exams, indirect deduct­ions, work stoppage, tips, and uniforms. For uniforms, employers are required to reimburse employees for the actual costs of uniform mainte­nance if the uniforms require special treatment. If uniforms are made of "wash and wear" materials that do not require special treatment, the employer need not reimburse the employee for uniform mainte­nance costs.

Discri­min­ation

Prohibited Employer Actions
Discri­min­ation, Age, Military Service, Retali­ation, Aiding and Abetting, Certain Criminal Inform­ation, Mental Illness, Handicap, Sexual Harass­ment, Pregnancy.

Drug & Alcohol Testing

Medical Marijuana
Recrea­tional Marijuana
The state's regula­tions do not require any accomm­odation of on-site medical use of marijuana in any place of employ­ment. However, according to the Massac­husetts Supreme Judicial Court, a qualifying patient who has been terminated from his or her employment for testing positive for marijuana as a result of lawful medical use of marijuana may seek a remedy against his or her employer through claims of handicap discri­min­ation in violation of state nondis­cri­min­ation law. This implies that off-site medical marijuana use might be a permis­sible "­acc­omm­oda­tio­n".
Massac­husetts voters passed an initiative that allows certain recrea­tional marijuana use. However, this law does not require an employer to permit or accomm­odate conduct otherwise allowed by the law in the workplace and does not affect the authority of employers to enact and enforce workplace policies restri­cting the consum­ption of marijuana by employees.
 

Employee Leave

Jury Duty
Voting Leave
SNLA
Victim Leave
Sick Leave
In Massac­hus­etts, employers, including those in the salvage yard industry, are prohibited from discha­rging, or denying the benefits of employment to, an employee because the employee responds to a juror summons or performs any obligation of jury service. Employers are generally required to pay regular employees their regular wages for the first 3 days of juror service.
Employers in Massac­hus­etts, including salvage yards, must permit employees entitled to vote to take time off to vote during the first 2 hours after the polls open. Employees must apply for a voting leave.
The SNLA requires employers with 50 or more employees to permit certain eligible employees to take a total of 24 hours of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for purposes such as partic­ipating in school activities directly related to the educat­ional advanc­ement of a son or daughter, accomp­anying the son or daughter to routine medical or dental appoin­tments, or accomp­anying an elderly relative to routine medical or dental appoin­tments or appoin­tments for other profes­sional services related to the elder’s care.
An employer with 50 or more employees in Massac­husetts must permit an employee to take up to 15 days of leave from work in any 12-month period if the employee (or a family member of the employee) is a victim of abusive behavior and the employee is using the leave from work to seek or obtain medical attention, counse­ling, victim services or legal assist­ance, secure housing, obtain a protective order from a court, appear in court or before a grand jury, meet with a district attorney or other law enforc­ement official, or attend child custody procee­dings or address other issues directly related to the abusive behavior against the employee or family member.
Massac­husetts employers, including those in the salvage yard industry, generally must provide sick leave to each employee. Employers with 11 or more employees must provide paid sick leave, generally at the rate the employees would have earned if they had worked instead of using sick leave. Employers with 1-10 employees must provide unpaid sick leave. However, employers are not required to pay out unused sick leave when an employee is termin­ated. Employees can use this leave for various reasons including to care for their own or a family member's physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition, to attend a routine medical appoin­tment, or to address the psycho­log­ical, physical, or legal effects of domestic violence.
 

FMLA

Employees
Qualifying Life Events
Duration of Leave
Payment
Payment
Payment
Notice Requir­ement
Notice Requir­ement
Employees who meet financial eligib­ility requir­ements for unempl­oyment insurance are eligible. This includes contra­ctors with a form 1099-MISC with businesses that issue 1099-MISC tax forms to more than 50% of their workforce.
The law allows for leave for the birth of a child, the need to care for a family member with a serious health condition, and the employee’s own serious health condition.
Employees can take up to 12 weeks in a year for the birth of a child or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. They can take up to 20 weeks in a year for their own serious health condition. If an employee elects to use leave for more than one life event, they can take a maximum of 26 weeks in a year.
The leave is paid. Employers must make wage deductions to fund quarterly contri­butions to the state. Employers are required to submit employee and (if applic­able) employer contri­butions and reports through MassTa­xCo­nnect.
Leave can generally be taken interm­itt­ently.
An employer must maintain an employee’s health benefits while they are on leave.
Upon return from leave, an employee must be restored to his or her prior position or to a similar or equivalent position.
Upon return from leave, an employee must be restored to his or her prior position or to a similar or equivalent position.