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S 1369

Provides for the financing of the design, acquisition, construction, improvement and installation of East River Esplanade

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jose Serrano

Adds nonprofit higher-ed employees to wage-payment law and grants immunity from civil liability for monthly-pay claims filed on/after July 1, 2024.

REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS
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Bill Summary · S 1369

Summary — S.1369 (2025): "An Act relative to nonprofit institutions of higher education"

Short description: The bill amends Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 149, Section 148 (wage-payment provisions) to (1) explicitly include employees of nonprofit institutions of higher education in an existing statutory clause and (2) grant nonprofit institutions of higher education immunity from civil liability for claims alleging that paying employees on a monthly basis violated Section 148, for claims commenced on or after July 1, 2024.

Main purpose and intent

The stated intent is to clarify the statutory treatment of employees of nonprofit institutions of higher education under Section 148 (wage-payment law) and to shield those institutions from civil liability for allegedly violating that Section by paying wages monthly — with immunity applied to claims filed on or after July 1, 2024.

Key provisions

  • Section 1: Amends Chapter 149, Section 148 by inserting the phrase “and employees of nonprofit institutions of higher education” immediately after the existing reference to “engaged in agricultural work.” (This places nonprofit higher-education employees within the same textual clause as agricultural workers in the relevant part of the statute.)
  • Section 2: Adds the following immunity clause:
    • “With respect to any claim or cause of action seeking any legal or equitable remedy or relief commenced on or after July 1, 2024, a nonprofit institution of higher education shall be immune from civil liability under claims alleging that the institution’s payment of wages on a monthly basis violated this Section.”

Who would be affected

  • Directly affected: nonprofit institutions of higher education operating in Massachusetts and their employees (faculty, staff, graduate assistants, other paid personnel), insofar as Section 148’s wage-payment rules and enforcement interact with payroll timing.
  • Indirectly affected: employees’ representatives (unions), wage enforcement agencies, and litigants bringing wage-payment claims against such institutions.

Potential impacts

  • Payroll practice: The bill would effectively permit (or confirm permissibility of) monthly wage payment practices for nonprofit higher-education employers, subject to other applicable law or contract terms.
  • Legal exposure: It creates a statutory immunity for those institutions from civil liability for claims about monthly-pay violations of Section 148 that are commenced on or after July 1, 2024 — potentially limiting employees’ ability to recover damages or seek remedies in court on such claims.
  • Retroactivity: Because the immunity applies to claims “commenced on or after July 1, 2024,” the clause could have retroactive effect (relative to the bill’s 2025 filing date) for claims filed during that period.
  • Enforcement and remedies: The provision narrows civil enforcement options under Section 148 against nonprofit higher-education institutions for the specific issue of monthly wage payments.

Procedural status and notes

  • Filed/Presented: Senate Docket No. 1025; bill filed January 15, 2025 and presented by State Senator Michael F. Rush.
  • Committee referral / actions (as provided): Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions (status listed as “REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS”). A hearing was scheduled for 04/16/2025 (11:00 AM–1:00 PM, room A-2).
  • Sponsor: Michael F. Rush (presenting senator). (Other sponsor metadata in the provided materials appears inconsistent with the Massachusetts state-bill context.)
  • Note on metadata: The file materials include conflicting or mixed entries (different committee referrals, U.S. Senator names, and differing dates). This summary is based on the bill text supplied, which amends Mass. Gen. Laws ch.149 §148 and adds the immunity clause with the July 1, 2024 date.

If you’d like, I can: (a) compare the proposed text to the current text of G.L. c.149, §148 to show precisely what statutory language is being altered; or (b) draft likely fiscal, legal, or labor-relations implications in more detail.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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