(1)
Written Evaluation. A domestic worker may request a
written evaluation of his or her work performance from an employer after three
months of employment and annually thereafter. A domestic worker may inspect and
dispute any written evaluation as provided under M.G.L. c. 149, §
52C.
(2)
Recordkeeping. An employer who employs a domestic
worker shall keep a true and accurate record of wages and hours for three years
in accordance with M.G.L. c. 151, § 15.
(3)
Written
Agreement. An employer who employs a domestic worker for 16 hours
or more per week shall provide to the domestic worker, and retain for a period
of three years from the date when services were performed, signed and dated by
both the worker and employer, a written agreement in a language or languages
easily understood by both the worker and employer(s), regarding the following
information:
(a) the rate of pay, including
overtime and additional compensation for added duties or multilingual
skills;
(b) working hours,
including meal periods and other time off;
(c) if applicable, the provisions for days of
rest, sick days, vacation days, personal days, holidays, transportation, health
insurance, severance and yearly raises and whether or not earned vacation days,
personal days, holidays, severance, transportation and health insurance costs
are paid or reimbursed;
(d) any
fees or other costs, including costs for meals and lodging;
(e) the responsibilities, including
regularity, associated with the job;
(f) the process for raising and addressing
grievances and additional compensation if new duties are added;
(g) the right to collect workers'
compensation benefits if injured on the job;
(h) if applicable, the circumstances under
which the employer may enter the domestic worker's designated living space on
the employer's premises;
(i) the
required notice of employment termination by the employer and by the domestic
worker;
(j) any additional
benefits afforded to the domestic worker by the employer; and
(k) for live-in domestic workers only, a
description of what the employer deems as cause for purposes of immediate
termination and removal within 48 hours from the employer's home without
severance pay. An employer need not list all conduct that would constitute
cause for termination but shall make a good faith effort to describe the
circumstances that would result in the worker's loss of lodging and severance.
(4)
Time
Sheet.
(a) An employer who
employs a domestic worker for 16 hours or more a week shall provide a time
sheet, in hard copy or electronic format, to the domestic worker at least once
every two weeks, recording the hours of compensable time worked each day in the
preceding two weeks, in a language easily understood by the domestic
worker.
(b) An employer must
provide a reasonable opportunity for a domestic worker to acknowledge agreement
with the employer's recording of the compensable time worked each day, by
signing or acknowledging the time sheets either in writing or by some
electronic method. The employer shall provide the domestic worker with a copy
(whether in paper or electronic form) of the time sheet signed or otherwise
acknowledged by both the employer and domestic worker.
(c) If the domestic worker disagrees with the
employer's records of the hours actually worked on any given day, the employer
shall provide the domestic worker with the opportunity to note the number of
hours he or she believes to have been worked on any given day, on that time
sheet alongside the employer's record of hours worked.
(d) Any signing or acknowledgement of the
time sheet by the domestic worker shall be done without prejudice to the
domestic worker's rights to payment of wages for compensable time actually
worked.
(e) In any dispute
concerning the hours worked, the domestic worker's failure or refusal to sign a
time sheet shall not relieve the employer of the obligation to pay wages in the
manner required by M.G.L. c. 149, M.G.L. c. 151, or 940 CMR 32.00.
(5) An employer's obligation to
provide the information required under 940 CMR 32.04(3)(a) through (k) shall
occur prior to the domestic worker's performance of any services.
(6) Prior to the domestic worker's
performance of any services, an employer shall provide a domestic worker with a
notice that contains all applicable Massachusetts and federal laws that apply
to the employment of domestic workers.
(7) An employer who employs a domestic worker
for 16 hours or more a week and fails to comply with the record-keeping
requirements of 940 CMR 32.04, including the maintenance of time sheets,
notices, written evaluations, and written agreements, shall have violated
M.G.L. c. 151, § 19(3), and may be subject to a civil citation or order as
provided in M.G.L. c. 149, § 27C.
(8) An employer may satisfy the notice of
rights requirements under 940 CMR 32.04(6) by providing a domestic worker with
a physical copy (or if the domestic worker prefers, an electronic copy) in the
worker's native language (if available on the website) of the Attorney
General's Notice of Domestic Workers Rights available on the Attorney General's
website at www.mass.gov/ago/dw.
(9) An employer shall furnish all records
maintained relating to a domestic worker to the Attorney General upon
demand.