• The Massachusetts State House is the place where the state sets its labor laws.VisionsofAmerica/Joe Sohm/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  Massachusetts passed the first child labor law in the United States in 1836, although that law simply stated that children under 15 who worked in factories had to attend school for at least three months every year. In 1877, it also passed the first state law requiring factory safety inspections. State and federal labor laws apply in the U.S. The states can't override federal restrictions, but they can place additional restrictions on employment or require higher minimum wages.
  
  

Sundays

• The Massachusetts Blue Laws regulate work on Sundays and holidays. The Blue Laws restrict business openings or require some businesses to get local permits to operate on Sundays and holidays. Unless a retail business falls under one of the exemptions listed in the laws, the Blue Laws require stores with more than seven employees to pay overtime for work performed on Sundays and say that these retailers can't require an employee to work on a Sunday or penalize a worker who refuses.
  
  

Holidays

• The Blue Laws distinguish between unrestricted holidays, partially restricted holidays and restricted holidays. On unrestricted holidays, stores can open and don't need to pay overtime to workers. The four unrestricted holidays for retailers include Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day. On partially restricted holidays, stores don't need a special permit but do need to pay overtime and can't force employees to work. On restricted holidays, stores need a permit from local police to open. The list of restricted and unrestricted holidays is different for retail and nonretail businesses. In both cases, Christmas and Thanksgiving Day are restricted holidays. Columbus Day is a restricted holiday until noon and Veterans Day is a restricted holiday until 1 p.m.
  
  

Child Labor

• In 2007, Massachusetts created a single application process for teens aged 14 to 17 to get work permits, which are required before they can begin a job. State law restricts the type of work that minors can do and the hours they can work. Massachusetts specifies that an adult must directly supervise minors working after 8 p.m. unless the minor works at a kiosk in an enclosed mall's common area and the mall has security.
  
  

Minimum Wage

• As of 2010, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is $8 per hour for most hourly employees and $2.63 per hour for service employees who receive more than $20 a month in tips and meet other requirements. That's higher than federal minimums of $7.25 per hour, $2.13 for tipped employees. All of the New England states, except New Hampshire, have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum.