MA pay frequency: weekly or biweekly for hourly. 6-7 day deadline.
Massachusetts is one of the few states with a strict pay frequency requirement: hourly workers must be paid weekly or biweekly, with wages due within 6 days of pay period end (5- or 6-day workweek) or 7 days of pay period end (7-day workweek). Monthly or semi-monthly cadence is not permitted for hourly workers under MGL c. 149 § 148. Salaried exempt workers can be paid monthly with worker consent. The deadline is enforced strictly — late wages trigger MGL c. 149 § 150 automatic treble damages plus attorney fees, even for short delays.
Pay Frequency Configuration
Enforces weekly/biweekly cadence for hourly workers. Validates 6-7 day payment deadline. Surfaces salaried-exempt monthly cadence option. Tracks late-payment exposure with treble damages context.
What those rules do as Massachusetts payroll runs.
The hero card configuration: Block on monthly hourly, Flag on deadline tracking, Avoid on cadence change.
When an admin attempts to configure monthly cadence for an hourly Massachusetts worker, the configuration save fails. MGL c. 149 § 148 requires weekly or biweekly. Salaried exempt workers can use monthly with consent.
For each pay period, Teambridge tracks the deadline (6 days for 5-6 day workweek, 7 days for 7-day workweek). Days remaining display in payroll workflow. Late processing surfaces willful-refusal context.
When an admin attempts to change pay frequency mid-pay-period, Teambridge surfaces an Avoid indicator. Cadence changes should align to pay-period boundaries with proper worker notice (typically 30+ days).
Deploy MA pay frequency in your Teambridge.
Tell us about your Massachusetts pay schedule. We'll spin up cadence enforcement and 21 other Massachusetts policies in a sandbox tenant.
Hourly = weekly or biweekly. Salaried can go monthly.
Massachusetts's pay frequency rule is more specific than most states. The 6-7 day deadline coupled with treble damages enforcement makes timing failures expensive.
Hourly: weekly or biweekly required
MGL c. 149 § 148 requires hourly workers to be paid on a weekly or biweekly cadence. Semi-monthly (twice a month, irregular intervals) is not permitted for hourly. Monthly is not permitted for hourly. Most MA hourly workers are paid biweekly to align with standard payroll cycles. Multi-state operators familiar with semi-monthly or monthly cadences in other states must use weekly or biweekly for MA hourly.
6-day or 7-day workweek deadline
Wages must be paid within 6 days of pay period end if the worker works 5 or 6 days per week, or within 7 days if 7 days per week. The deadline runs from the end of the pay period (not the work week). Saturday pay-period end with Tuesday-Wednesday payday is typical (5-6 days). The shorter-than-usual deadline catches employers used to 14-day cycles.
Teambridge enforces cadence and tracks the deadline.
MA's pay frequency rule plus the 6-7 day deadline plus mandatory treble damages makes timing failures expensive. Continuous deadline tracking is essential.
Hourly = weekly/biweekly.
When a Massachusetts hourly worker is configured, the cadence options are weekly or biweekly. Monthly attempts fail at config save. Salaried exempt workers see monthly as an option with consent requirement.
6-7 day countdown.
Each pay period end triggers a deadline countdown: 6 or 7 days depending on workweek length. The countdown displays in payroll workflow. Approaching deadlines surface as Flag; passed deadlines surface as Critical with treble damages context.
Real-time visibility.
Operators see late-payment exposure: aggregate late wages × 3 + attorney fees + civil penalties. Per-worker and aggregate views update as payments confirm.
Records exportable.
Pay timing records export with payroll metadata, payday confirmations, and any deadline misses. Documented compliance reduces findings on AGO audit or worker complaint.
Still evaluating? Get a free Massachusetts compliance audit.
Send us your existing Massachusetts scheduling and pay configuration. Our compliance team returns a written audit within 5 business days — every Massachusetts-specific exposure ranked by risk and back-pay liability.