What a week pays in Massachusetts
Take a 44-hour week with a 12-hour Monday, at $20 an hour. Under Massachusetts rules that is 40 regular hours and 4 hours of overtime, for $920.00.
That matches federal rules alone, because Massachusetts’s rule does not pay more than the federal 40-hour week for this schedule. Change the hours in the calculator above to test your own week.
Who the rule covers
The state rule excludes many occupations, including hotel, motel, restaurant, gasoline station, hospital and nursing home, non-profit school and farm employees; the FLSA still applies to those employees if they are covered.
- The state rule excludes 20 categories of work, including garage workers, seasonal businesses open 120 days or less and outside salespeople.
How federal law fits in
The FLSA applies in every state: a covered, non-exempt employee earns at least 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour over 40 in a workweek. Where a state rule and the federal rule both apply, the employee gets whichever pays more for each hour, never both. At $20.00 an hour, federal overtime is $30.00 an hour.
For the federal overtime deduction, only the premium on hours over 40 in a week counts, the same in Massachusetts as everywhere else. The no tax on overtime calculator works out that deduction.
Questions people ask
What is the overtime law in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, which matches the FLSA weekly rule, but excludes a number of occupations from the state rule.
Does Massachusetts have daily overtime?
No. Massachusetts has no daily overtime rule for most employees, so overtime is owed for hours over 40 in a workweek under federal law.
Is double time required in Massachusetts?
No. Massachusetts law does not require double time. It is paid only when an employer policy or a union contract provides for it.
Can a Massachusetts employer average hours over two weeks?
Not for federal overtime. Each workweek stands alone under the FLSA, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next means 10 hours of overtime in the second week, even when both are paid together.