Bill
S 1321
Amends wage act §148 to narrow weekly-pay exemptions: coop shareholders may opt in to weekly pay; casual public employees are exempt; most private hospital workers stay covered.
Status and procedural notes
- Bill number: S.1321 (Senate Docket No. 2041). Filed: 01/17/2025. Introduced in Senate: 04/08/2025. Current status entries (as provided) include referrals to multiple committees (Investigations and Government Operations; Labor and Workforce Development) and a hearing scheduled for 10/28/2025. The legislative record supplied contains some inconsistent entries (see “Notes” below); consult the official Massachusetts Legislature website for the authoritative current status.
Purpose / intent
- The bill proposes a targeted amendment to Section 148 of Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws (the statutory provision governing timing of wage payments) to clarify which workers are excluded from the weekly-pay requirements. The bill is presented as intended to “clarify the wage act to protect hospital workers from being deprived of their wages.”
Key provision (text change)
- The bill replaces the existing fifth paragraph of G.L. c.149, §148 with the following paragraph:
- “This section shall not apply to an employee of a co‑operative association if he is a shareholder therein, unless he requests such association to pay him weekly, nor to casual employees as hereinbefore defined employed by the commonwealth or by any county, city or town.”
- In short, the amendment expressly limits the weekly-pay-exemption to:
1. Employees of cooperative associations who are shareholders (but such shareholders can opt in to weekly payments by request), and
2. “Casual employees” (as already defined elsewhere in the statute) employed by the commonwealth or by any county, city or town.
Who would be affected
- Primary categories affected:
- Employees of cooperative associations who also are shareholders — they would remain exempt from the weekly-pay rule unless they request weekly pay.
- “Casual employees” employed by state or local government — these employees would be explicitly excluded from the weekly-payment requirement under §148.
- Private-sector employees (including most private hospital workers) would remain governed by the general weekly-pay provisions of §148 unless another statutory exemption applies.
- Potential impact on hospital workers depends on employer type and employee classification:
- Private hospital employees would generally continue to be covered by the weekly-pay requirement.
- Hospital workers classified as “casual employees” and employed directly by a state or municipal hospital could be excluded from the weekly-pay provisions under the new language.
- The bill’s stated intent suggests a protective purpose for hospital workers, but the text itself clarifies certain exemptions rather than adding a new positive wage requirement.
Potential legal and practical effects
- Clarifies scope of existing exemptions to weekly-pay rules; may resolve ambiguity about whether certain public “casual” workers or cooperative shareholders are covered.
- Actual effect depends on statutory definitions (particularly “casual employees”) and on how hospitals and hospitals’ workers are classified (private vs. public employer; casual vs. regular employee).
- Employers and labor advocates may need to reassess payroll practices and employee classifications if the amendment is enacted.
Procedural / timeline aspects
- Change would be an amendment to an existing provision (G.L. c.149, §148) and would take effect according to the usual rules for enactment (upon the governor’s approval and any effective date specified).
- As of the provided record, the bill has been referred to committee(s) and a public hearing was scheduled (10/28/2025); further committee action and floor votes would be needed to advance it.
Notes and caveats
- The metadata provided contains inconsistencies (bill title referencing alcohol licensing, sponsors that do not match the filing senator, duplicated and conflicting referral dates). This summary is based on the bill text supplied (an amendment to the wage-pay statute) and the stated title about clarifying the wage act. For formal tracking and legislative history, consult the official Massachusetts General Court website or the Clerk’s office for authoritative status, sponsors, and versions.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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