Do I get paid sick time as a server in Massachusetts?
The short answer
The rule in Massachusetts
| How you earn it | At least 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked. |
|---|---|
| Yearly cap | Up to 40 hours per year. |
| Paid or unpaid | Paid at employers with 11 or more employees; unpaid at employers with fewer than 11. |
| Uses | Caring for yourself and certain family members. |
“Employers with 11 or more employees must provide paid sick time. Employers with fewer than 11 employees must provide earned sick time, but it does not need to be paid.” (Massachusetts Attorney General: earned sick time)
What’s different in Massachusetts
Federal law requires no sick time. Massachusetts requires every employer to let you earn it, and the size line only decides whether it’s paid. At 1 hour per 30 worked, a server putting in 30 hours a week earns about an hour a week (our arithmetic), reaching the 40-hour cap in under a year.
For a tipped server, paid sick hours come at your hourly wage. The Massachusetts cash wage is $6.75, so a paid sick shift can look thin next to a busy night. Section 148C of chapter 149 is the statute behind the rule.
Official sources
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.
Still open: The pages we saved don’t say what hourly rate paid sick time uses for a worker on the $6.75 tipped cash wage. Ask the Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division before relying on a number.