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Benefits, Compensation and Leaves 16-12
1 G.L. c. 150E, § 6. See also, Lawrence School Committee, 3 MLC 1304 (1976) (holding that paydays
schedules are also a mandatory subject of bargaining).
2 Boston School Committee, 10 MLC 1410 (1984).
3 See Dracut School Committee, 13 MLC 1055 (1986) (holding that a public employer may not offer an
applicant a higher wage than it is currently paying bargaining unit members without giving the union the
opportunity to bargain).
4 The federal minimum wage is curently set at $5.15 an hour; Masachusets’ minimum wage is
$5.25/hour but does not apply to a municipal employee. Overtime pay rates for police and fire are
computed under the Fair Labor Standards Act in a special manner. See 29 U.S.C. § 207(k).
5 Worcester County Sheriff's Department, 28 MLC 1 (2001).
6 Medford School Committee, 3 MLC 1413 (1977).
7 Town of Mashpee, 19 MLC 1572 (1992).
8 Norfolk County, 24 MLC 104 (1998).
9 Where a decision regarding pensions and other retirement benefits is made by someone other than the
employer, the employer may still have to bargain over the impact of the change. See, e.g., Malden, 20
MLC 1400 (1994) (requiring employer to bargain over impact of decision by the Retirement Board);
Higher Educ. Coordinating Council, 22 MLC 1172 (1993) (requiring employer to bargain over impact of
legislation establishing an optional retirement plan).
10 This includes bargaining over contribution or premium rates. See Everett, 416 Mass. 620 (1993).
However, where the insurance carrier cancels the policy, the employer may implement a new plan before
reaching agreement or impasse with the union. See Weymouth, 21 MLC 1189 (1993).
11 See Framingham, 20 MLC 1536 (1994).
12 29 U.S.C. § 207(e).
13 29 CFR § 785.19 reads as follows:
(a) Bona fide meal periods. Bona fide meal periods are not work time. Bona fide meal periods do not
include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are rest periods. The employee must be completely
relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily, 30 minutes or more is long enough
for a bona fide meal period. A shorter period may be long enough under special circumstances. The
employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating.
For example, an office employee who is required to eat at his desk or a factory worker who is required to
be at his machine is working while eating. [citations omitted]
(b) Where no permission to leave premises. It is not necessary that an employee be permitted to leave the
premises if he/she is otherwise completely freed from duties during the meal period.
The courts have adopted two tests to determine whether meal time compensation is in fact necessary, and
examine: 1) who receives the greatest benefit from meal periods, see Amour & Co. v. Wantock, 323 U.S.
126 (1944), or 2) whether employees are required to perform any duties during meal times, see Culkin v.
Glen L. Marting Nebraska Co., 97 F. Supp. 661 (D. Neb. 1951),af’d197 F. 2d 981 (8th Cir. 1951).
14 29 CFR 553.223(b). This provision applies to police and fire departments under the 207(k) exemption
of the FLSA, where the employer may take advantage between a seven and twenty-eight day consecutive
work schedule.
15 Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, 450 U.S. 728 (1981).
16 Brooklyn Savings Bank v. O’Neal, 328 U.S. 697 (1981).
17 City of Lynn, 24 MLC 92 (1998).
18 Id.
19 Massachusetts Port Authority, 26 MLC 100, 101 (2000).
20 See Everett, 22 MLC 1275 (1995) (holding that employer unilaterally and unlawfully altered the pay and
compensation schedule for Christmas and Thanksgiving).
21 See New Bedford School Committee, 2 MLC 1181 (1975).
22 Town of Billerica, 11 MLC 1302 (1985).
23 See City of Revere, 21 MLC 1325 (1994). But cf., City of Leominster, 17 MLC 1699 (1991)
24 See Mas. Comm’r of Admin. & Fin., 21 MLC 1637 (1995).
25 Sheriff of Suffolk County, 28 MLC 72 (2001).
26 City of Everett, 12 MLC 1418 (1986).
Commonwealth of Massachusetts