With the new year upon us, most Massachusetts are looking to put 2021 and 2020 behind us for that matter. Hopes of a return to whatever normal is these days are on the horizon, but there will be some changes in Massachusetts in the New Year that have nothing to do with COVID-19.

One major change will hit Massachusetts on the first day of January in 2022. One has to do with farming, and the other affects minimum wage.

Massachusetts Minimum Wage Will Increase on January 1, 2022

On Jan 1, 2022, the minimum wage in Massachusetts will increase from $13.50 per hour to $14.25. The 75 cent increase is an effect of legislation passed in 2018 which implemented a step-up program gradually increasing minimum wage with the goal of hitting $15.00 per hour by January 1 of 2023, according to mass.gov.

By law, there are a few exceptions where employers do not need to pay employees the new minimum wage, according to JD Supra LLC: 

  • Workers being rehabilitated or trained under rehabilitation or training programs in charitable, educational, or religious institutions;
  • Seasonal camp counselors and counselor trainees;
  • Members of religious orders;
  • Outside sales workers who regularly sell a product or products away from their employer's place of business and who do not make daily reports or visits to the office or plant of their employer;
  • Agricultural and farm workers (they must be paid at least $8.00 per hour though); and
  • Tipped employees - It's worth noting that with tipped employees, their hourly "service pay" plus the tips they receive each shift must equal or exceed the minimum wage. "Service pay" wage will increase to $6.15 an hour on January 1 of 2022.

 

LOOK: What major laws were passed the year you were born?

Data for this list was acquired from trusted online sources and news outlets. Read on to discover what major law was passed the year you were born and learn its name, the vote count (where relevant), and its impact and significance.

 

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