US state regulation
Massachusetts
Every state-level regulation PlainRegWatch tracks for Massachusetts - across data privacy, AI, food chemical bans, right to repair and worker protection, with status, effective dates and official sources.
- 48/100
- Strictness score
- 6
- Regulations tracked
- 6
- Enacted into law
- 2/5
- Categories regulated
The verdict
Massachusetts is a moderate regulator - 6 enacted regulations across 2 of 5 tracked policy areas, scoring 48/100 for regulatory strictness, led by Employment & Worker Protection.
- 48/100
- strictness score (vs peers)
- 6
- regulations enacted
- 2/5
- policy areas regulated
- Employment & Worker Protection
- most-active policy area
Strictness is a 0–100 composite of regulatory breadth and the enacted share; see methodology for how it is derived.
Regulatory Snapshot: Massachusetts
Massachusetts currently tracks 6 regulations in the PlainRegWatch database, of which 6 are enacted and 0 remain pending before the state legislature. The state's composite strictness score sits at 48/100, classifying Massachusetts as a moderate regulator compared to its peers. Regulatory activity spans 2 of 5 policy categories covered by PlainRegWatch, with Employment & Worker Protection representing the most active area (5 enacted rules).
The earliest tracked Massachusetts enactment dates to 2016, with the most recent documented enactment in 2024 - a window of 8 years of legislative activity. Across the 50-state fleet, Massachusetts contributes to a national total that PlainRegWatch maintains across categories such as AI Regulation, Data Privacy, Employment & Worker Protection, Food Chemical Bans and more, each with distinct compliance obligations.
Compliance teams monitoring Massachusetts should treat the 6-enacted / 0-pending split as a leading indicator: pending bills in this state often signal the shape of future regulation in neighboring jurisdictions with similar strictness scores. For the authoritative statutory text of any Massachusetts regulation listed below, follow the source link on its detail page, PlainRegWatch links every entry to the official state legislative record.
💼 Employment & Worker Protection
Massachusetts Act to Establish Pay Equity (Salary History)
H 1603 Effective: 2018-07-01Massachusetts prohibits salary history inquiries — one of the first such laws in the US.
Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law
M.G.L. c. 151 Effective: 2023-01-01Massachusetts minimum wage $15.00/hr. Tipped workers: $6.75/hr (service rate) with tips to $15.00.
Massachusetts Non-Competition Agreement Act
M.G.L. c. 149 sec. 24L Effective: 2018-10-01Massachusetts limits non-competes to employees with duties-aligned scope. Maximum 1 year (1.5 years for breach). Garden leave or equivalent required.
Massachusetts Pay Transparency Act
SB 2965 Effective: 2025-10-29Pay ranges for 25+ employees. Pay data reports for 100+.
Massachusetts PFML + Earned Sick Time
H 4400 / M.G.L. c. 175M Effective: 2021-01-01Massachusetts PFML: 12 weeks family leave, 20 weeks medical leave. Premiums shared. Sick: 40 hrs/year.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Regulations by category in Massachusetts
What this means for Massachusetts
Massachusetts's regulatory activity is concentrated in employment & worker protection - the area to watch for compliance.
- Employment & Worker Protection is Massachusetts's most-regulated area (5 enacted rules). Compare states
- Massachusetts regulates across 2 of 5 tracked policy areas, with 0 bills still pending.
- See how Massachusetts ranks against other states on regulatory strictness and volume. View rankings
Figures reflect regulations currently tracked from official Massachusetts legislative records; coverage expands as new laws are enacted.
Source: State regulatory filings (IAPP / MultiState aggregation) Massachusetts state-rule registry · 2024 State regulatory data aggregated from official state filings; status (enacted/pending/proposed) reflects latest legislative tracker snapshot.
Every figure on PlainRegWatch is rendered directly from state source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal and state source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.