Massachusetts labor law continues to evolve in 2025, and employers that stay in front of these updates reduce legal risk and strengthen hiring and retention. Below is a clear, practical rundown of the top changes and what they mean for HR, legal, and operations teams in the Commonwealth.
Salary Range Transparency Goes Live in October 2025
Massachusetts enacted An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency, with two key timelines:
- EEO workforce data reporting: Employers with 100+ employees must submit their most recent EEO-1 (and other EEO reports on the prescribed cadence) to the Secretary of the Commonwealth starting February 1, 2025.
- Pay range disclosure: Beginning October 29, 2025, employers with 25+ employees must disclose wage/salary ranges in job postings and provide ranges to applicants and employees on request. The law includes cure periods and escalating penalties through 2027.
Action for employers:
- Build a defensible method for setting and updating pay ranges (by role, level, location).
- Audit job postings and recruiting workflows to surface ranges automatically.
- Ensure an annual process for EEO submissions—this is now a Massachusetts requirement layered on top of federal obligations.
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Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML): 2025 Rates and Benefits
For calendar year 2025, the PFML total contribution rate remains 0.88% of eligible wages (split between the medical and family leave portions, with employee and employer shares depending on headcount). DFML’s 2025 rate sheets and guidance confirm the unchanged rate.
The maximum weekly PFML benefit increased to $1,170.64 as of January 1, 2025, tied to the State Average Weekly Wage.
There’s also an important tax treatment update: the IRS issued guidance on the federal income tax implications of state PFML benefits effective January 1, 2025, with DFML summarizing implications for Massachusetts; DFML also flagged new W-2/FICA handling for certain medical-leave benefits beginning January 1, 2026. Plan with payroll now to avoid year-end surprises.
Action for employers:
- Update payroll systems for 2025 0.88% PFML contributions and the new benefit maximum.
- Coordinate with tax advisors on the 2025 federal guidance and prepare for 2026 payroll/W-2 changes.
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App-Based Driver Standards: New Floors and Benefits Carry Through 2025
Following the Attorney General’s June 27, 2024 settlement with Uber and Lyft, drivers received a minimum pay floor (inflation-adjusted annually) plus sick leave, health stipends, and PFML-related contributions. As of January 1, 2025, the minimum pay floor rose to $33.48 per hour of engaged/active time (up from $32.50). The AG and platform materials outline the mechanics, and DFML notes platform PFML contributions for drivers beginning January 30, 2025.
Why it matters: Even if you don’t use app-based drivers, this is a visible Massachusetts labor law shift that influences wage trends and equity expectations across industries—especially for part-time and flexible workforces.
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Noncompete Landscape: SJC Clarifies the MNAA; FTC Rule Stalls
Two 2025 developments shape restrictive-covenant strategy:
- Massachusetts SJC decision (Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc., June 13, 2025): The Court held that a forfeiture clause triggered by a breach of a non-solicitation agreement is not a “forfeiture for competition agreement” under the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA). Translation: Non-solicitation covenants—even if paired with a forfeiture clause—do not become noncompetes subject to MNAA requirements. This restores predictability for employers using standard non-solicit + forfeiture structures.
- FTC noncompete rule (federal): A Texas federal court set aside the FTC’s noncompete ban in August 2024; in September 2025 the FTC moved to dismiss its appeal, leaving the federal ban in limbo and not in effect. Massachusetts employers should continue to rely on the MNAA (effective Oct. 1, 2018) and recent SJC guidance.
Action for employers:
- Keep non-solicitation, confidentiality, and non-compete templates separate and clean.
- For true non-competes, confirm MNAA compliance (advance notice, consideration, garden-leave terms, restricted categories) and revisit enforcement posture in light of Miele.
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Minimum Wage and Earned Sick Time: Core Baselines Remain
The statewide minimum wage remains $15.00/hour in 2025 (service rate $6.75), with no new statewide increase this year. Always confirm any municipal or industry-specific rules that may apply, but at the state level the rate has been steady since 2023.
The Earned Sick Time law continues to guarantee up to 40 hours/year at 1 hour per 30 hours worked, paid for employers with 11+ employees (unpaid for smaller employers). This baseline interacts with benefits recently extended to app-based drivers via settlement.
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Quick Compliance Checklist for 2025
- Postings & ranges: Add pay ranges to job ads and internal mobility postings in time for October 29, 2025. Train recruiters and managers on responding to range requests.
- Workforce data: Establish a calendar to file EEO reports with the Secretary of the Commonwealth (first due February 1, 2025 for many filers).
- PFML payroll: Keep the 0.88% rate and $1,170.64 max benefit in your systems; brief finance/payroll on the 2025 IRS guidance and the 2026 W-2/FICA shift.
- Restrictive covenants: Separate non-solicit from non-compete language; align non-competes with the MNAA; update enforcement playbooks to reflect Miele.
- Gig strategy: If you engage app-based platforms, understand the driver pay floor and benefits—it shapes market expectations even outside rideshare.
Bottom line:
Treat 2025 as a consolidation year—translate statute and court movement into repeatable processes. With Massachusetts labor law adding pay range transparency, steady PFML rates but updated benefits and tax guidance, app-based driver protections, and sharpened noncompete rules, the employers that win will be the ones that operationalize compliance, not just memorize it.
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