Amendment ID: S1925-31

Amendment 31

Threshold Increase and Tie to Minimum Wage

Mr. Ross moves to amend the bill by inserting the following new section:-

SECTION XX. Chapter 136 is hereby amended by striking out clauses 50 and 52, in section 6, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following:-

(50) The keeping open of a store or shop and the sale at retail of goods therein, but not including the retail sale of goods subject to chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, and the performance of labor, business, and work directly connected therewith on Sunday. This exemption shall not apply to any legal holiday as defined in clause eighteenth of section seven of chapter four, but this exemption shall apply to the day following Christmas Day when Christmas occurs on a Sunday.  In any year in which Christmas occurs on a Sunday, this exemption shall not apply to that Sunday.

Any store or shop which qualifies for exemption under this clause or under clause (25) or clause (27) and which employs more than a total of fifty persons, including the proprietor, on Sunday or any day throughout the week, shall compensate all employees engaged in the work performed on Sunday pursuant to the provisions of this clause, or clause (25) or clause (27), excepting those bona fide executive or administrative or professional persons earning more than two hundred dollars a week, at a rate not less than one half the minimum wage established under section 1 of chapter 151 in addition to the employee’s regular rate.  No employee engaged in work subject to the provisions of this clause shall be required to perform such work, and refusal to work for any retail establishment on Sunday shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, reduction in hours, or any other penalty. The provisions of this paragraph shall be enforced by the office of the attorney general. The provisions of section one hundred and eighty A of chapter one hundred and forty-nine shall apply to any violation of this paragraph.

(52) The retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises on Sundays by retail establishments licensed under section 15 of chapter 138; provided, however, that notwithstanding this chapter, a municipality may prohibit the retail sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays by licensees under section 15 by vote of the city council or board of selectmen; provided further, that there shall be no such sales prior to the hour of 12:00 noon or on Christmas Day if Christmas occurs on a Sunday; and provided further, that establishments operating under this clause which employ more than fifty persons shall compensate all employees for work performed on a Sunday at a rate of not less than one half the minimum wage established under section 1 of chapter 151 in addition to the employee’s regular rate. No employee shall be required to work on a Sunday and refusal to work on a Sunday shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, deduction of hours or any other penalty.