Amendment ID: S1925-8

Amendment 8

Sunday Premium Pay Repeal

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 section:-

(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.

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.  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.

SECTION XX: Chapter 136 is hereby further amended in section 16 by striking out the second paragraph, therein, and inserting in place thereof the following new paragraph:-

Any store or shop authorized to operate pursuant to this section and which employs more than a total of seven persons, including the proprietor, on any day throughout the week, shall compensate all employees engaged in the work performed on the holiday, 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 and one-half times 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 a holiday 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. The terms “Memorial Day,” “July Fourth” and “Labor Day” shall mean the legal holidays on which said days are celebrated in accordance with clause eighteen of section seven of chapter four of the General Laws.