Eastern · Retail
Retail scheduling laws in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has the strongest paid-sick-time law in the Northeast and a long history of premium-pay rules (the historical 'Blue Laws' for Sunday work were phased out by 2023). Key scheduling-impacting rule today is the Earned Sick Time Law.
Last updated 2026-05. Statute citations linked inline. Not legal advice — consult counsel for compliance audits.
Rules that affect your schedule
4 Massachusetts rules to know.
Each rule includes the statute reference and how Weekwright helps you stay compliant. We focus on rules that affect the schedule itself — not every wage-and-hour topic.
Earned Sick Time Law
M.G.L. c.149 §148CAll employees accrue 1 hour of sick time per 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year. Employers with 11+ employees pay; smaller employers can offer unpaid.
How Weekwright helps
Time-off requests with the Sick type flow into the conflict detector; the audit log captures usage for accrual reporting.
Sunday and holiday premium pay (historical)
M.G.L. c.136 §6Massachusetts's 'Blue Laws' historically required time-and-a-half on Sundays and certain holidays for retail. The premium was phased out by January 2023; today it's regular pay, but check older contracts and CBAs that may still reference it.
How Weekwright helps
Per-position hourly rates support multiple rate variants. If you've negotiated CBA-locked Sunday premiums, encode them once in the position config — every Sunday shift surfaces the higher rate.
Equal Pay Act
M.G.L. c.149 §105AMassachusetts pay-equity law requires equal pay for 'comparable work' regardless of gender. Schedule visibility and shift-distribution analytics are increasingly used in pay-equity audits.
How Weekwright helps
Multi-week trend analytics (analyze_scheduling_trends) flags fairness signals — weekend / late-shift skew per member, shift-count disparity between roles. Foundation for an equal-pay audit, not a substitute.
Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights
M.G.L. c.149 §190Specific to in-home domestic workers (caregivers, housekeepers): mandatory rest periods, written work agreements, overtime protections.
How Weekwright helps
Niche use case — Weekwright is built for shift-based teams, not in-home domestic worker arrangements. If you operate a domestic-staffing agency, the basic features still help; if you employ a single in-home worker, simpler tools may fit better.
Official sources
Citations link to the primary statute, ordinance, or agency page so you can verify against the original. This is research guidance, not legal advice — consult counsel for compliance audits.
- M.G.L. c.149 §148Cmalegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section148C
- M.G.L. c.136 §6malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter136/Section6
- M.G.L. c.149 §105Amalegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section105A
- M.G.L. c.149 §190malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section190
Pricing
Per seat. Predictable across states.
Compliance rules apply per location, so a chain operating in Massachusetts and elsewhere runs each rule set independently.
Starter
For your first scheduled week.
$0/mo, billed annuallyStart free- Up to 10 active employees
- Unlimited weekly schedules
- Time-off, swaps, templates
- Email support
- Most popular
Pro
For teams that schedule weekly.
$3.5/mo, billed annually · per seatStart free- Unlimited employees
- Multi-location dashboards
- Compliance rules engine
- Audit log + insights
- Open shifts + advanced swaps
AI
Pro plus the scheduling agent.
$6/mo, billed annually · per seatStart free- Everything in Pro
- AI weekly drafts + gap fill
- Conversational scheduling chat
- AI insights + weekly review
- Per-shift assignment explanations
Business
For multi-location operators.
$10/mo, billed annually · per seatTalk to us- Everything in AI
- + $99/mo platform fee
- SSO (Google Workspace)
- Audit retention 7 years
- Jurisdiction compliance baseline
- Priority support
Common questions
Massachusetts retail FAQ.
What scheduling laws does Massachusetts have for retail?
Massachusetts has the strongest paid-sick-time law in the Northeast and a long history of premium-pay rules (the historical 'Blue Laws' for Sunday work were phased out by 2023). Key scheduling-impacting rule today is the Earned Sick Time Law. The most relevant rules for retail are: Earned Sick Time Law, Sunday and holiday premium pay (historical), Equal Pay Act.
How does Weekwright help comply with Massachusetts scheduling laws?
Weekwright ships with a configurable compliance rules engine. Massachusetts-relevant rules (rest periods, consecutive-day limits, daily overtime caps) are checked at every shift create, move, and publish. The audit log captures every change for predictability-pay calculations and labor-board responses.
Does Weekwright automatically update when Massachusetts labor laws change?
We track changes to the major scheduling-related laws (predictive scheduling ordinances, sick leave, daily overtime). Compliance rule defaults can be updated org-wide; we don't push silent changes — labor law is sensitive enough that we surface the diff first.
What about retail businesses outside Massachusetts?
Weekwright is multi-jurisdiction friendly. Each location pins its IANA timezone and its own set of compliance rules — a chain operating in Massachusetts and another state runs both rule sets independently, on the same dashboard.
Schedule retail compliantly in Massachusetts.
Free for up to 10 employees. No credit card required.