Massachusetts minimum wage: what Boston employers owe, including tipped staff

Key takeaways

• The Massachusetts minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, a rate in effect since January 1, 2023 under M.G.L. c. 151, s. 1.
• The Massachusetts service rate for tipped employees is $6.75 an hour, and it applies only to workers who earn more than $20 a month in tips.
• When the service rate plus tips comes to less than $15.00 an hour for a shift, the employer pays the difference in the next paycheck.
• The City of Boston’s living wage, $19.36 an hour as of July 1, 2026, covers workers on City service contracts of $25,000 or more, not private employers in general.
• An employee who wins a minimum wage lawsuit under M.G.L. c. 151, s. 20 collects three times the unpaid wages plus attorneys’ fees.

The Massachusetts minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay an employer in the state can legally give most workers, and in 2026 it is $15.00 an hour. If you run a shop, restaurant, salon or office in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline or any other Massachusetts city or town, that state rate is the one you owe. The federal minimum of $7.25 is lower, so the state figure controls. Tipped staff can be paid a lower cash wage, called the service rate, of $6.75 an hour, but only under conditions set by state law.

This guide covers the current rates, whether Boston adds a wage rule of its own, how the service rate and tip pools work, who is left out of the law, the related duties on posters, records and short shifts, and what an underpayment can cost.

What is the Massachusetts minimum wage in 2026?

The Massachusetts minimum wage in 2026 is $15.00 an hour. The rate took effect on January 1, 2023 and has not changed since, according to the Trial Court Law Libraries’ minimum wage page, last updated August 28, 2026. The state legislature set the figure in M.G.L. c. 151, s. 1, which treats any wage under $15.00 an hour as “oppressive and unreasonable.”

The same section says the state minimum can never be less than 50 cents above the federal minimum. The rates a Boston-area employer is most likely to meet are below.

Rate	Amount per hour	Set by
Massachusetts minimum wage	$15.00 (since January 1, 2023)	State, M.G.L. c. 151, s. 1
Massachusetts service rate for tipped employees	$6.75 (since January 1, 2023)	State, M.G.L. c. 151, s. 7
Massachusetts agricultural minimum	$8.00	State, M.G.L. c. 151, s. 2A
Federal minimum wage	$7.25 (since July 24, 2009)	Federal, Fair Labor Standards Act
Boston living wage, City service contracts only	$19.36 (as of July 1, 2026)	City of Boston ordinance

Does Boston have its own minimum wage?

Boston does not publish a citywide minimum wage for private employers, so a business in Dorchester, Brighton or Downtown owes the state rate of $15.00 an hour. No separate Boston minimum for private employers appeared on boston.gov when this guide was checked on November 13, 2026.

The wage rule the City of Boston does enforce is narrower. Under the Boston Jobs, Living Wage, and Prevailing Wage Ordinance, in effect since 1997, workers on City service contracts and subcontracts worth at least $25,000 must be paid the living wage. That wage is $19.36 an hour as of July 1, 2026 and is adjusted each July, according to the Office of Labor Compliance and Worker Protections.

What do you owe tipped employees in Massachusetts?

Tipped employees in Massachusetts are owed at least $15.00 an hour once tips are counted, and the employer’s cash share can be as low as the $6.75 service rate. The service rate is the reduced hourly wage that M.G.L. c. 151, s. 7 allows for service workers who customarily receive more than $20 a month in tips. The gap between the two figures, $8.25, is the most tip credit an employer can take.

The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division says an employer may pay the service rate only when these conditions are met:

• The employer has told the worker in writing about the service rate rules in M.G.L. c. 151, s. 7.
• The worker earns more than $20 a month in tips.
• The worker’s tips plus the service rate add up to at least $15.00 an hour.
• The worker keeps all tips, or shares them only through a lawful tip pool.

Miss any of those conditions and the full $15.00 is due, under the Department of Labor Standards regulation 454 CMR 27.03.

The shift-by-shift calculation

Since January 1, 2019, the comparison has been made at the end of each shift, not averaged across a week. The Attorney General’s pay and recordkeeping guide gives an example. A server works a 5-hour shift, earns $33.75 at the service rate and takes home $30.00 in tips, for $63.75. Five hours at $15.00 is $75.00, so the employer adds $11.25 to the next paycheck.

Who can share in a tip pool in Massachusetts?

A tip pool in Massachusetts can include only wait staff employees, service employees and service bartenders. A tip pool is an arrangement in which tipped workers combine their tips and divide them. The limit comes from M.G.L. c. 149, s. 152A, the state tips law, which bars employers from taking any part of tips or service charges meant for those workers.

Owners are out of the pool. So are managers and supervisors on any day they have managerial responsibilities, even if they carry plates or pour drinks that day, according to the Fair Labor Division. Employees who do not serve customers directly are also excluded.

The statute does let a restaurant or venue add a house or administrative fee and keep it, but only if the fee is clearly labeled as not being a tip or service charge for the staff.

Which workers are not covered by the Massachusetts minimum wage?

Workers not covered by the Massachusetts minimum wage of $15.00 fall into a short list of categories in M.G.L. c. 151, s. 2. The exclusions include:

• Agricultural and farm workers, most of whom have a separate $8.00 minimum under M.G.L. c. 151, s. 2A.
• Members of religious orders.
• People being rehabilitated or trained under programs in charitable, educational or religious institutions.
• Outside salespeople who regularly sell away from the employer’s place of business and do not report to the office daily.
• People in professional service, a term the statute does not define.

Students are a limited exception, not an exclusion. Under 454 CMR 27.06, certain students can be paid 80% of the minimum wage ($12.00 at the current rate), but most of those cases require a waiver from the Director of the Department of Labor Standards. Municipal employees are outside the state law, the Trial Court Law Libraries note.

What else does the minimum wage law require from employers?

The minimum wage law and its regulation, 454 CMR 27.00, require Massachusetts employers to do several things beyond paying the hourly rate. The ones that most often catch small employers are these:

• Reporting pay: an employee scheduled for three or more hours who shows up on time and is sent home early must be paid for at least three hours at $15.00 or more. Organizations with charitable status under the Internal Revenue Code are exempt.
• Uniforms: if you require staff to buy or rent a uniform, you reimburse the actual cost.
• Meals and lodging: deductions are capped, at $1.50 for breakfast and $2.25 each for lunch and dinner, and need the employee’s written acceptance in advance.
• Poster: the Attorney General’s Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws notice must hang where employees can easily read it.
• Records: M.G.L. c. 151, s. 15 requires records of each employee’s name, address, occupation, pay and daily and weekly hours, kept for three years.

Overtime is a separate rule. Most employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate after 40 hours in a week, and for some employees paid the service rate the overtime figure is 1.5 times the $15.00 minimum, according to the Attorney General’s notice.

What happens if you pay less than the Massachusetts minimum wage?

Paying less than the Massachusetts minimum wage exposes an employer to a state investigation and a private lawsuit. The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division takes wage complaints, including anonymous ones, through its online complaint form and its hotline at (617) 727-3465. After reviewing a complaint, the office can send a warning, issue a civil citation requiring back wages and a penalty, file criminal charges, or give the worker a letter allowing a private suit.

In court, M.G.L. c. 151, s. 20 awards a prevailing employee three times the unpaid minimum wages, plus litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. A worker’s agreement to accept less than $15.00 is not a defense. Tip violations under M.G.L. c. 149, s. 152A carry restitution with 12 percent annual interest.

Will the Massachusetts minimum wage go up in 2027?

The Massachusetts minimum wage has no scheduled increase for 2027 in the official sources checked on November 13, 2026. The $15.00 rate was the last step of a five-year schedule that ended on January 1, 2023, and the Trial Court Law Libraries page says no further increases are planned.

A raise would have to come from the legislature or from voters through a ballot question. Either one would change M.G.L. c. 151, so the General Laws page for section 1 is the place to confirm the rate before you set 2027 payroll.

What should you recheck before you act?

The figures below were checked on November 13, 2026. Confirm each one at the source named before you rely on it.

• Massachusetts minimum wage ($15.00) and service rate ($6.75): M.G.L. c. 151, ss. 1 and 7 on malegislature.gov, and the Attorney General’s pay and recordkeeping guide on mass.gov.
• Any 2027 change: the Trial Court Law Libraries’ minimum wage page on mass.gov, which records new laws and ballot results.
• Boston living wage ($19.36 as of July 1, 2026): the Office of Labor Compliance and Worker Protections on boston.gov. The rate changes each July.
• The workplace notice: the copy checked carries a June 2021 revision date. Ask the Fair Labor Division at (617) 727-3465 whether a newer version is out.
• Federal minimum wage ($7.25) and federal tip credit rules: the U.S. Department of Labor’s state tipped wage table, last revised July 1, 2026.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; confirm the current requirements with the agency named before you file or pay.

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