• Massachusetts has specific overtime laws.massachusetts flag image by Vladislav Gajic from Fotolia.com
  
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has specific laws that regulate overtime pay to workers. Massachusetts laws ensure workers get overtime pay under certain conditions. Unlike many states, Massachusetts has "blue laws" that regulate certain industries on specific days, in addition to other overtime laws. The Commonwealth's Attorney General enforces these laws.
  
  

Minimum Wage and Overtime

• Massachusetts has a minimum wage of $8.00 a hour. Under the state's overtime laws, a worker is entitled to time and a half for overtime work. Hence, any extra hour of work yields the worker $12 for that extra hour. A full work week is 40 hours a week under Massachusetts law. If an employee works for more than 40 hours in a week, she is generally entitled to overtime pay for those additional hours. However, Massachusetts makes some exceptions for overtime to some workers. There are 20 types of workers who are exempt from state overtime, but are capable of having federal overtime paid to them. These workers include, but are not limited too, hotel workers, fishermen, restaurant workers, farmers, seasonal workers who work in a particular job for 120 or fewer days in the year, salespeople, and residential property workers who are compensated with living quarters.
  
  

Massachusetts Blue Laws

• Massachusetts has blue laws that govern overtime pay. The blue laws restrict retail, nonretail, and manufacturing businesses on certain holidays. Retail stores require a permit from local police to be open on Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day before 12 PM, and Veteran's Day before 1 PM. Stores open before 12 PM on Columbus Day and 1 PM on Veteran's Day must pay overtime. Retail stores can be open on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day after 12 PM, and Veteran's Day after 1 PM as long as they reward their workers overtime pay. There are no restrictions or overtime laws on Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, and the Massachusetts state holidays of Evacuation Day, Patriot's Day, and Bunker Hill Day.
  
  Nonretail business require a permit on the same days as retail stores and also Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. Businesses do not have to pay overtime to employees working on those days. All other days mentioned for retail are not given limitations for nonretail business.
  
  Manufacturing jobs follow the same guidelines as nonretail jobs, however, the blue laws give manufacturing workers the legal option not to work on holidays that require permits: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day before 12 PM, and Veteran's Day before 1 PM.
  
  

Specifics of Overtime Laws

• No worker or employer can violate the overtime laws. A worker cannot waive his or her right to overtime. Pay in the form of paid holidays is not paid at overtime rates. If a worker worked 37 hours a week, but receives eight hours of paid holiday, those eight hours are paid at his regular wage, not at overtime rates.
  
  Salary workers are not exempt from overtime pay in Massachusetts; however, the actual job may be exempt from overtime payment.