Massachusetts Legal Rights of Domestic Workers Poster

Payroll and Timekeeping Records  
Your employer is required to k eep payroll records  that include how much you worked each day and each week, how much you were 
paid, and any deductions that were taken.  The employers must keep payroll records for 3 years. You have the right to see your own 
payroll records at a reasonabl e time and place.  
You must receive a paystub  with your pay that shows the number of hours worked each day, your hourly rate, and any deductions 
from or additions to your pay.  Your paystub can be paper or electronic.  
If you work 16 or more hours a week, y our employer must give you a timesheet  at least every two weeks that shows the number of 
hours worked each day.  The timesheet should be signed or acknowledged by both you and your employer.  
If you disagree with the hours listed and cannot come to an agree ment with your employer, you have the right to make a note of the 
number of hours you believe you worked.  Signing a timesheet does not mean that you cannot later claim any additional wages 
owed.  Your employer cannot withhold your pay if you do not sign t he timesheet. 
Job Evaluations 
You have the right to ask your employer for written feedback about your work:  
• 3 months after you start working , and
• once a year after that.
If you disagree with something your employer writes on the form, you may ask him/her  to change it to something that you both 
agree with.   
If you cannot agree, you may write a letter to your employer explaining your view. That letter must be given to anyone who receives 
a copy of your job evaluation.	
 	
Pay  You must be paid at 
least the state minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15/hour.   You must be pa
id for all ho urs yo u work.  This  include s all  time  that you a re require d be someplace or d oing work for y our employer . 
Employe rs must pa y overtime  to workers who work more  than 4 0 hours i n any week. O vertime  pay i s at l east 1 .5 x the regular r ate 
of p ay for e ach h our ov er 40 hours.  
Your emp loyer must pa y you promptly,  usually within 6 da ys of the  end of t he pay period. If yo ur employment e nds, your e mployer 
must pa y you for a ll ho urs w orked and a ny unused 	
vacation time r ight away –  the same da y or the ne xt r egular pa y day.  
Rest Pe riods During a
 rest period, you  must  be free of all work duties and be allowed to leave the workplace. Your rest periods may be paid or 
unpaid.  (Breaks of less than 20 minutes generally must be paid.) You and your employer should agree on this when you are hired.  
You  may  choose  to work if you 	
want  to. If that happens, you  must  be paid for the rest period.  
I f y ou wor k 6 or m ore hours in a day yo u have a right to a 30 -minute meal  or rest b reak every w orkday. 
I f y ou wor k 40 or mo re hours a week , yo u must get at leas t 1 full day (24 hours) o ff  each week a nd 2 full days (48 h ours) off each 
month. You can give  up this rest pe riod through a w ritten agreement w ith your employer in  a language  you understand.  
If y ou a re required t o be on 	
duty f or 24 h ours or more , you and your employer ma y agree that s ome meal  periods,  rest p eriods,  or 
sleep periods 	
up t o 8 h ours will  not b e co unted 	as p aid  working time. 
If yo u are o n duty f or less t han 24 h ours , your e mployer must pay you for a ll m eal,  rest,  and 	
sleeping pe riods, unless you have no 
work duties an d are allo wed t o leave  during t hose times.  Pre-
Paid H ours If yo
ur employer pre -pays you, but th en does not give yo u enough hou rs to work in th at pay period , y our e mp loyer must not 
make y ou pay back a ny part of yo ur w ages o r deduct w ages from a fu ture p ay period. 
You and your e mployer may agree that you will “make  up” t he time i n a later w eek (“banking 
hours”) .  This  is a llowed f or up to 24 
hours o f banked time,  but only if  you have a greed to it  in writing in  a language yo u understand.  If yo u work more than 40 ho urs in a 
week,  including banked hours that you were making up,  then you still must be paid at time-and-a-half for any hours over 40.

Pay Deductions Employer
s are not allowed to deduct money from an employee’s pay unless the law allows it or the employee asked for the 
deduction for his/her own benefit.  
Examples of r equired or allowed deductions  
 State and federal tax withholding,
 Social Security and Unemployme nt,
 Wage garnishments, such as for child support, for health insurance
Examples of deductions the employee can agree to  Contributions to the worker’s savings or  retirement accounts
 Worker’s share of health insurance premiums
 Food  and drinks  - An employer may only deduct the cost of food and beverages from the worker’s pay if the worker chooses it
voluntarily, and is allowed to store, prepare, and eat and drink the foods s/he prefers.
The employer must not  charge more than $1.50 for breakfast an d $2.25 for lunch or dinner, and the deduc tion must  not  be for
more than the actual cost.
 Housing  - An employer must not  deduct the cost of your room (housing) if s/he requires you to live in that place . An employer
may  deduct the cost of your room (hous ing) only  if you choose to live there and  your housing meets the local and state health
code standards for heat, water, and light.
The employer must not charge more than: $35 a week for a room with 1 person; $30 a week for a room with 2 people; or $25
a  week for a room with 3 or more people.
No d eductions are allowed for food, drinks, or housing without your written permission in a language you understand.  
Public Benefits  Social S
ecurity & I ncome Taxes 
When emp loyees earn more than $ 1,900 a y ear, the employer m ust deduct m oney from your pa ycheck and send it to t he 
government t o fund c ertain  state and fed eral programs. 
These  tax de ductions c ount as credits t owards r etirement a nd disability benefits .  
For q uestions on h ow this works, contact t he Social  Security Ad ministration:  800 -772 -1213  –   www.ssa.gov . 
Unemployment B enefits 
Employees 	
who l ose their j ob but a re able  to work and available  and looking f or work m ay qualify for une mployment benefits. 
To s ee if yo u qualify,  contact t he Department o f Unemployment A ssistance: 617-626-68 00 – www.mass.gov/dua . 
Sick Ti me, Vacation, and O ther Leave  Sick Leave 
You h
ave the r ight t o earn 1 	
hour of s ick time  for every 3 0 	hours y ou work. You m ay earn an d take  up t o 4 0 h ours of s ick leave a 
year.  You must be a ble 	
to us e your s ick leave 3 m onths (90 	days) after y our first d ay of w ork. 
You may use yo ur earned sick tim e if you or yo ur child,  spouse,  parent 	
or s pous e’s parent is  sick or injured or has a routine me dical 
appointment . You m ay 	
also 	u se  sick le ave for yourself  or y our ch ild to d eal with d omestic v iolence.  Find m ore information at 
www.mass.gov/ago/earnedsicktime .
 
Vacation & Personal D ays 
You and your e mployer may agree on vacation and personal  days, and whether t hese days will be pa id or unpa id.  
Important! If y our employer ag rees to paid v acation time, you must g et paid for an y unused vacation t ime that you have 	
earned 
when your j ob ends. Learn m ore about v acation time at www.mass.gov/ ago/fairlabor.

Parental Leave
 
You  may take up to 8 weeks  of unpaid, job- protected leave for the birth or adoption of a child.   Y ou must give the employer at least 
2 weeks ’ notice of the dates the leave starts and ends.    
If your employer does not allow you to take this leave or discriminates against you because of pregnancy or a new child, you may 
contact the Massachusetts  Commission Against Discrimination at 617- 994-6000  or  https://www.mass.gov/ mcad	
. 	
 
If your employer has 50 or more employees , you may have the right to other kinds of leave, including:  
Kind of Leave	 	Wh	o and wh	at it 	covers	 	Contact	 	
Domestic Violence Leave 	You or a family member related to the domestic 
violence	 	
MA  Attorney General?s Office,  617-727-
3465	, www.mass.gov/ago	 	
Small Necessities Leave Act  You, to take care of some family obligations  	MA Attorney General?s Office,  617-727-
3465	, www.mass.gov/ago	 	
Family and Medical Leave Act 
(FMLA) 	 	
You,  unpaid, job- protected leave for some family or 
medical reasons	 	
U.S. Dept.  of Labor , 617 -624- 6700, 
www.dol.gov/whd	 	
Phone  and Internet  – Live -in Workers  
Employer s who have p hone or Internet service must give you  free and reasonable access to those services. If they  do not have 
phone  or Internet service, they must allow you  reasonable  opportunities to access those services elsewhere  at your  own expense.  
Privacy and Freedom to Come and Go  
You have the right to privacy, even if you  live in the employer’s home.  
Your employer must not:  
  Monitor or record  your  private living or  sleeping space, or your bathroom, dressing  or  undressing activities  
  Limit , interfere with, monitor or rec ord your private communications  
  Take, destroy, hide or keep your passport or any of your documents or belongings  
  Force you to work  by:  
o   Hurting you, restraining you, causing you financial harm or threatening to do so , or  
o   Abusing the law  or  legal process, br ibing you or by other illegal method . 
Injuries at Work  
If you get hurt while on the job, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.   Even if the employer does not have 
worker’s compensation insurance, workers  who  miss more than 5 days of work because of work -related injury or illness may be able 
to get compensated for medical care and lost wages.    
For more information, contact the Department of Industrial Accidents:  617 -727 -4900  – www.mass.gov/dia	
.  	
Immigrant Workers Are Protected  
State laws that protect workers apply to all  workers, including undocumented workers.  
Warning!  An employer who reports a worker to the immigration authorities because the worker complained about a violation  of 
wage and hour  law rights or other rights can be charged with a crime. ( M.G.L. c. 149, §§ 27C &  148A	
; M.G.L. c. 151 § 19(1) & (5) ) 	
Authorized immigrant workers who work for an employer  with at least 3 other employees are protected against discrimination 
bas ed on their immigration status.  For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Justice:  800- 255-7688  – 
www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/	
.  	
Employers Must Not  Discriminate   
An employer may not discriminate against you  based on race,  color, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual 
orientation, genetic information, ancestry, age, or disability, or for certain other reasons. Sex discrimination includes sex ual 
harassmen t and pregnancy discrimination.  You also have p rotections against harassment based on sexual orientation, gender 
identity, race, color, age, religion,  national origin or disability. It is unlawful for your employer to retaliate against you for 
complaining of practices that you believe to be discriminat ory. 
For more information, contact the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division at (617) 963- 2917 or the Massachusetts Commission 
Against Discrimination at 617- 994-6000.

Termination –  Live -in Workers  
If you live in your employer’s home or at another place  your employer requires, you have certain additional rights if you are fired or 
laid off.  
Unless you are fired for cause, your employer must  give you: 
  Written notice;  and  
  At  least  30 days  of housing where you are now  or in similar housing  OR s everance pay equal to average  pay for 2 weeks .  If the 
employer chooses to provide housing at another location or severance pay, you must have at least 24 hours to move out.  
If the employer  fires you for cause , s/he must give you:  
  Advance written notice;  and  
  A reasonable opportunity of at least 48  hours to move out . 
If the employer  makes a written statement in good faith saying you did something that harmed the employer or his/her family  or 
household, t he employer can : 
  End  the your job immediately, and   
  Give you no  money or time to find new housing.  
Important!  No m atter  what the reason for your leaving, the employer  must pay you  all wages owed , including  all accru ed , u nused 
p aid  va ca tion  time , when you leave.  
Employers Must Not  Retaliate  
An employer must not punish or discriminate against you for exercising your  rights  under the Massachusetts wage and hour laws, 
including the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights .    
Those rights  appl y to all workers, regardless of immigration status. If an employer reports or threatens to report an undocumented 
worker to immigration authorities for complaining about a violation  of those rights , the employer can be prosecuted and/or subject 
to civil penalties.  
Do you have a complaint about your employer?   
 
Employers of domestic workers must  obey Massachusetts’ wage and hour laws and all of the rights on this Notice.   
If you have a question or want to file a complaint about a right listed in this notice, you should contact the agency listed in that 
section.  If no a gency is listed, y ou may file a complaint with  the Attorney General’s Office .  Learn more about filing a complaint online 
at  www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor	
. Or call us  at (617) 727 -3465.