Massachusetts Reporting-Time Calculator

Read the regulation: three hours at basic MW, not 3× regular

The official text: “When an employee who is scheduled to work three or more hours reports for duty at the time set by the employer, and that employee is not provided with the expected hours of work, the employee shall be paid for at least three hours on such day at no less than the basic minimum wage.” Sources: 454 CMR 27.00 (PDF); Massachusetts law about hours and conditions of employment; Attorney General Pay and recordkeeping.

Load scheduled 8 hours, 09:00–10:00, $20. Hours furnished are 1. Regular wages are $20. The floor is 3 × $15.00 = $45. The reporting-time line is $25. That is not Rhode Island’s 3 × regular ($60) and not a remaining-hours-at-regular-rate invention.

Scheduled 8h, furnished 1h @ $20, MA MW $15 → $20 + $25 make-up = $45
Furnished 3h @ $20 → $60 wages, already above 3h × $15, no extra
Scheduled under 3 hours → 454 CMR 27.04(1) does not apply
Charitable-organization toggle on → guarantee off

The $15.00 basic minimum wage is from mass.gov (Massachusetts law about minimum wage; Minimum Wage Program; Pay and recordkeeping): effective 1 January 2023, described as the final step of the 2018 schedule, with no further increase in effect as of 28 August 2026. Proposed S.1349 has not been enacted and is not used here.

Charitable-organization carve-out

454 CMR 27.04 “shall not apply to organizations granted status as charitable organizations under the Internal Revenue Code.” The Attorney General’s summary is the same: for-profit employers. The charitable-exempt box is off by default; checking it turns the reporting-pay line off.

In scope

Punch-in/out to prove the employee reported on time
Hours actually furnished from the punches
Scheduled-hours field (must be ≥ 3 for the rule to apply)
3-hour floor at $15.00 basic MW (mass.gov, in effect 2026)
Hours worked at the regular rate count toward that floor
Charitable-organization exemption (toggle off by default)
FLSA weekly 40 on hours worked

Out of scope

3× the regular rate (that is Rhode Island § 28-12-3.2, not 454 CMR 27.04)
New York 12 NYCRR 146-1.6 spread-of-hours
California Labor Code 226.7 meal premium / lunch premiums
Tipped service rate / agricultural $8.00 MW as the reporting floor
NJ 1-hour reporting-time and CT mercantile 4-hour (not this page)

FAQ

What is Massachusetts reporting pay under 454 CMR 27.04(1)?

When an employee who is scheduled to work three or more hours reports for duty at the time set by the employer, and is not provided with the expected hours of work, the employee shall be paid for at least three hours on such day at no less than the basic minimum wage. That is a 3-hour floor at basic MW, not 3× the regular rate.

What is the 2026 Massachusetts basic minimum wage used here?

Fifteen dollars per hour. mass.gov (Massachusetts law about minimum wage; Pay and recordkeeping) states the basic minimum wage is $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2023, the last step of the 2018 schedule, with no further increase in effect for 2026. Senate Bill S.1349 has not been enacted.

If I earn $20 and work one hour of an eight-hour schedule, is the make-up 3× $20?

No. 1 hour × $20 = $20. The floor is 3 hours × $15.00 basic MW = $45. The reporting-time line is the $25 shortfall. A 3-hour day at $20 is already above the floor, so there is no extra guarantee. Charitable organizations under the Internal Revenue Code are exempt (toggle off by default).

Is this a lunch premium or New York spread-of-hours?

No. This is reporting pay / show-up. It is not a meal-period premium and not New York 12 NYCRR 146-1.6 spread-of-hours.