MASSACHUSETTS - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• For the purposes of wage and hour law, Massachusetts defines “agricultural and farm work” as labor on a farm and the growing and harvesting of agricultural, floricultural and horticultural commodities. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 2)

Post-harvest activities—such as cleaning, sorting, and packing—do not fall under the definition of agricultural and farm work. Aris-Villano v. Chang & Sons Enterprises, Inc., 481 Mass. 625, 628, 632 (2019).

• The term “migrant farm worker” shall mean an employee who seasonally travels interstate to gain employment and lives in a labor camp provided by the employer. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 2B)

• For purposes of Massachusetts’ Agriculture and Conservation Title, “farming” or “agriculture” are defined at MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 128, § 1A.

Proposed Senate Bill 2347 (introduced in 2019), “An Act Relative to Overtime Pay for Agricultural and Farm Work,” would change the definition of “agricultural and farm work” in Chapter 151 to be defined as in Section 1A of Chapter 128 of the General Laws. Due to its emergency preamble, the bill would become law immediately upon passage.

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• Massachusetts has a state minimum wage law. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151)  
• The current Massachusetts’ hourly minimum wage is $15 effective Jan. 1, 2023.
• Agricultural workers have a lower minimum wage than other workers.
• The current state minimum wage for agricultural workers is $8.00. The minimum wage for agricultural workers does not apply to employees seventeen years of age or under, or to a parent, spouse, child or other member of the employer’s immediate family (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 2A)
• The agricultural minimum wage applies to “any person [employed] in agriculture and farming.” (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 2A)

Overtime

• Massachusetts has a state law regulating overtime pay. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 1A).
•  Agricultural workers are excluded from the state overtime law.  Laborers engaged in agriculture and farming on a farm are exempt from overtime pay. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 1A)
• As described above, workers engaged in post-harvest activities are not “engaged in agriculture and farming” within the meaning of the agricultural exemption to the state’s overtime statute. Workers employed in such activities are entitled to overtime pay. Aris-Villano v. Chang & Sons Enterprises, Inc., 481 Mass. 625, 632 (2019).
• Seasonal businesses that only operate up to 120 days per year can apply for an exemption from the state overtime law. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 151, § 1A(9

State Enforcement Agency

The Attorney General Fair Labor Division
Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/the-attorney-generals-fair-labor-division

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law with no exceptions. Employers are required to cover agricultural workers to same extent as all other workers. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 152 § 1(4) (2012)

State Enforcement Agency:
Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council

Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-industrial-accidents
Relevant Forms: https://www.mass.gov/department-of-industrial-accidents-forms

Field Sanitation

• The State Sanitary Code has regulations specific to Housing and Sanitation for Farm Labor Camps, which include requirements regarding field sanitation facilities and drinking water. (105 Mass. Code Regs. 420.000)

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Public Health

Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-public-health

Pesticide Safety

• Massachusetts’ Pesticide Control Act governs the labeling, distribution, sale, storage, transportation, use and application, and disposal of pesticides in the state. (MASS. GEN. LAWS ANN. ch. 132B; 333 Mass. Code Regs.)
• Field workers must receive training on proper usage, handling, and necessary safety precautions for agricultural pesticides and toxic chemicals before handling such substances, under the Farm Labor Camps regulations. (105 Mass. Code Regs. 420.652)
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness for health care providers. Physicians, hospitals, and other health professionals are required to report pesticide poisoning within 10 days. (105 C.M.R. 300.180).

State Enforcement Agency:
Occupational Health Surveillance Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/occupational-health-surveillance-program

Relevant Forms: https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/09/rg/confidential-report-form.pdf

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• There is a state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation (such as being fired, demoted or disciplined).
• Massachusetts law applies only a portion of its private-sector labor relations law to agricultural workers who work for an employer with more than four permanent, agricultural workers who are not family relatives. (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 150A § 5A.) The statute gives the worker (or the union) a right to file a lawsuit or administrative complaint to challenge retaliation by an employer. If agricultural worker are covered by statute, then they are treated like all other employees with the same collective bargaining rights. (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 150A § 5A.)
• The statute creates rules and enforcement mechanisms that regulate collective bargaining in agriculture, allowing agricultural employees to organize and requires the Labor Commission, when designating an appropriate unit, to designate an employer unit. (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 150A § 5A.)

State Enforcement Agency: 

Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations 

Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-labor-relations

State Legal Services Organizations

Central West Justice Center
http://www.cwjustice.org/

Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Inc. (based in Maine)
http://www.ptla.org