Massachusetts Minimum Wage $15 per Hour Begins January 1st, 2023
BOSTON – Attorney General office is reminding employees and employers that the state’s minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
The AG’s Office has also made available its wage and hour poster that employers are required to display in both English and any other language that is spoken by five percent or more of the employer’s workforce and for which a translated notice in that language is available from the AG’s Office. The poster is available in seven languages and in formats that employers, workers, members of the public, and organizations can easily access, free of charge.
“Through enforcement actions, education, outreach, and collaboration with our community partners and government agencies, our Fair Labor Division works hard to ensure workers and employers are aware of their rights and obligations under the law,” said AG Healey. “We are issuing this notice so that all workers and employers are aware of the upcoming minimum wage increase in Massachusetts, and to let the public know my office is able to assist with any questions.”
In June 2018, Massachusetts enacted a law that set the minimum wage to increase each year until it reaches $15.00 in 2023. Tipped employees will also get a raise on Jan.1, 2023, and must be paid a minimum of $6.75 per hour provided that their tips bring them up to at least $15 per hour. If the total hourly rate for the employee including tips does not equal $15 at the end of the shift, the employer must make up the difference.
Free copies of the AG’s Wage and Hour poster are available in English, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese on the AG’s Fair Labor Division website to download and print. To request a paper copy, please visit www.mass.gov/ago/fldposter or call (617) 727-3465. Employers in Massachusetts must post the AG’s wage and hour poster in a conspicuous location in the workplace in English and in any other language used by more than 5 percent of their workforce.
The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division enforces laws that protect workers, including minimum wage, timely payment of wages, overtime, earned sick time, child labor, Sunday and holiday premium pay, and the public construction bid and prevailing wage laws. It also protects employees from exploitation and wage theft through strong partnerships and community education. To increase resources available to victims of wage theft, the AG’s Office works with community partners, law schools, and private bar attorneys to host free monthly wage theft clinics at Suffolk Law School in Boston. These clinics are part of an effort to address wage theft and worker exploitation among vulnerable populations, including low-wage and immigrant workers in the state. For more information and a schedule of upcoming clinics, please click here.
During the Fiscal Year 2022, the Fair Labor Division assessed more than $11.8 million in restitution and penalties against employers on behalf of working people in Massachusetts.
Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in the workplace can file a complaint at www.mass.gov/ago/fld, or call the office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465. More information about the state’s wage and hour laws is also available in multiple languages here.
