Massachusetts’ $11 an Hour Minimum Wage Goes into Effect
Photo via AP
Starting January 1, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is $11 an hour, up from $10.
The increase is the last of three required under a 2014 law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick. For tipped workers, the minimum wage will rise to $3.75 an hour, as long as tips bring their total hourly pay to $15. The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 an hour.
Massachusetts’ new $11 an hour minimum wage is currently the highest in the country—that is, until California’s $15 an hour minimum wage, approved last year, goes into effect in 2022. Massachusetts is also the only state to require time and a half on Sundays for retail workers.
The pay bump comes amidst calls for a $15 an hour minimum wage, already set to take effect in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles. Fight for $15 demonstrators, including state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, were arrested last month while protesting outside the McDonald’s restaurant in Central Square.
“Big corporations have been exploiting lower-wage workers for decades, forcing people to work long hours and tough schedules without receiving fair holiday or sick pay, and without receiving a living wage,” Eldridge said in a statement.
