Effective October 1, 2016, transgender individuals in Massachusetts will have the legal right to use restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity, regardless of their assigned sex. Additionally, no place of public accommodation (that is any place that is open to and solicits the patronage of the general public) will be allowed to discriminate or advertise in a way that discriminates based on gender identity.

The Massachusetts state poster has been updated due to a change in Wage and Hour posting, Minimum Wage and the addition of Equal Pay and Non-Discrimination.

In Massachusetts, the law requires employers to adopt a written policy against sexual harassment.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has announced that a safe harbor will be provided for employers that have sufficient existing paid time off policies and gives such employers an additional six months. 

Effective July 1, 2015, employees who work for employers with eleven or more employees could earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per calendar year.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that a safe harbor will be provided for  employers with sufficient existing paid time off policies and gives them an additional six months.

 

Massachusetts state poster order(s) are now available for ordering due to a recent update that states employers will now be required to make parental leave available to both men and women, if they do not already, and provide job protection to workers during the birth or adoption of a child.

An amendment to the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (MMLA), effective April 7, 2015, extends leave to males as well as females.

The minimum wage increased to $9.00 an hour, effective January 1, 2015. The new law also mandates increases in tipped workers’ minimum cash wage to $3.00 an hour on January 1, 2015, and rising to $3.75 an hour on January 1, 2017.

Massachusetts has updated the Sexual Harassment provisions to allow employers to include the work address and telephone number of the person or persons to whom complaints about sexual harassment should be made.