Comparison of Federal and Massachusetts Overtime Exemptions

Comparison Chart: Explanation

The chart below compares the treatment of different types of employees under federal and Massachusetts overtime and minimum wage laws. A few definitions will help understand the contents of the chart:

Exempt from Overtime: this means an employee is not required to be paid additional amounts for hours worked over forty in a workweek.

Non-Exempt from Overtime: this means an employee is required to be paid at 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over forty in a workweek.

Exempt from Massachusetts Minimum Wage: this means the employee is not required to be paid at the Massachusetts minimum wage (currently $14.50 per hour), but unless that job is also exempt from federal minimum wage, the worker must still be paid the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

For ease of reference in this chart, some of the descriptions of exempt jobs have been shortened or simplified. If you think any of these may apply to you, it is a good idea to consult an employment lawyer who can review the more detailed statutory language and advise whether the exemption applies to your position.

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FLSA vs. Massachusetts Law Comparison of Overtime and Minimum Wage Exemptions

Type of Job	MA Overtime Exempt	MA Minimum Wage Exempt	FLSA Overtime Exempt	FLSA Minimum Wage Exempt
Bona Fide Executive	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Bona Fide Administrative	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Bona Fide Professional	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Outside Salesperson	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Fisherman	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Switchboard Operator on a Public Exchange	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Driver of Large Trucks in Interstate Commerce	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Employees Subject to Railway Labor Act	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Hotel or Motel Employees	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt
Gasoline Station Employees	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt
Restaurant Employees	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt
Garage Employees (i.e., mechanics)	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt
Employees of Hospitals and Nursing/Assisted Living Facilities	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt
Seasonal Camp or Recreation Facility Employees	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Agricultural Workers	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Employees of Newspapers with Less Than 4,000 Local Circulation	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Seamen	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Certain Domestic Service Employees	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Computer Systems Analyst, Computer Programmer, Software Engineer	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Border Patrol Agents	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Criminal Investigators	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Baseball Players	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Outside Buyer of Eggs, Poultry, or Dairy Products	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Radio or Television Announcers/Broadcasters Outside of Major Metropolitan Areas	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Employees engaged in selling, servicing or repairing automobiles, trucks, farm implements, trailers, boats or aircraft	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Employees Engaged in Making Sugar or Syrup from Maple Sap	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Employees Engaged in Transportation or Preparation for Transportation of Fruits or Vegetables From the Farm	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Taxicab Drivers	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Public Fire Protection or Law Enforcement Employees if Agency Employs Five or Fewer Such Employees	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Live-In Domestic Workers	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Movie Theatre Employees	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Forestry and Lumber Workers Where Company Has Eight or Fewer Such Employees	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt	Non-Exempt
Employees of Services Located on National Parks or in National Wildlife Refuge	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Exempt (up to 56 hours per workweek)	Non-Exempt
Employees of Non Profit School or College	Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt	Non-Exempt

Meet Our Employment Lawyers

Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as a Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients on both the employee and employer side with issues relating to wage and hour laws, including overtime pay, late or unpaid wages or commissions, employee misclassification, and retaliation against employees asserting rights under the wage and hour laws.

Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped clients with wage and hour disputes, including employee misclassification, late or unpaid wages or commissions, retaliation under the Wage Act, and advice to both employees and employers about wage and hour law compliance.

Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna has helped clients assess their rights under the wage and hour laws, including employee misclassification, untimely payment of final wages, late or unpaid commissions, retaliation, and advice to small business owners about wage and hour law compliance.

Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients with wage and hour claims, including late or unpaid commissions, retaliation, employee misclassification, and overtime, and litigated these claims in state and federal courts. He also advises employers about employment policies and wage and hour compliance.

Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped clients with multiple wage and hour issues, including retaliation, misclassification, and late or unpaid wages or commissions, and litigated these claims in state and federal courts.

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