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How Does Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Law Impact Employers?
The medical marijuana law, titled Massachusetts’s Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana (the “Act”), went into effect on January 13, 2013. And while it does not directly implicate the employment relationship, there will undoubtedly be workplace issues which will
arise concerning the use of medical marijuana. We explore the potential issue for employers in our latest issue of the Employment Law Advisor. You can download the newsletter and sign up for our monthly updates here.
Understanding the Frequency of Payment Rules
An employer who does not pay its non-exempt employees every two weeks may technically be violating Massachusetts law.
In Massachusetts, non-exempt employees must be paid at least weekly or biweekly (every two weeks) and both exempt and non-exempt employees must be paid within six days of the end of the pay period during which wages were earned. Employers who instead pay non-exempt employees only semi-monthly (twice a month, e.g. on the 15th and 30th of the month) potentially violate these rules in two ways: by paying less frequently than biweekly, and by failing to pay within six days of the end of the pay period. An employer who pays employees on a weekly basis must, prior to paying employees on a bi-weekly basis, provide each employee with written notice of such change at least ninety days in advance of the first such bi-weekly paycheck.
Employees who come within the executive, administrative or professional exemptions, i.e. are exempt, may be paid on a semi-monthly basis, or if the employee consents, on a monthly basis. Before paying an employee on a semi-monthly or monthly basis, however, employers should be certain that the employee is properly classified, because there are no exemptions to the biweekly payment rule for non-exempt employees.
Massachusetts Employment Law Blog 