Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2090 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4068 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2090
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Marjorie C. Decker
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act securing the application of Massachusetts law to employees of employers incorporated or
13	13	operating in Massachusetts who provide their labor and services remotely.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex1/17/2025 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4068 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2090
19	19	By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2090) of
20	20	Marjorie C. Decker relative to remote employees. Labor and Workforce Development.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act securing the application of Massachusetts law to employees of employers incorporated or
27	27	operating in Massachusetts who provide their labor and services remotely.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 Whereas the employment of workers on a remote or virtual basis has grown
31	31	2exponentially in the last decade;
32	32	3 And whereas the provision of remote services and labor has become a staple of
33	33	4contemporary employment and has proven invaluable to employers in securing a stable and
34	34	5productive workforce, employees in providing an added benefit without hampering productivity,
35	35	6and the Commonwealth in public health and other state emergencies, by facilitating “shelter-in-
36	36	7place” and “stay-at-home” orders without hampering the Commonwealth’s economic
37	37	8development or productivity;
38	38	9 The Legislature enacts the following Act:
39	39	10 SECTION 1: The Legislature hereby amends Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General
40	40	11Laws by inserting Section 204 after Section 203: 2 of 3
41	41	12 A. Definitions.
42	42	13 Employer. For the purposes of this section, an employer is any individual, corporation,
43	43	14partnership, or other private or public entity, including any agent or officer having the
44	44	15management of such entity, that is incorporated in, headquartered in, and/or operates in the
45	45	16Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth itself, its instrumentalities, political subdivisions,
46	46	17their instrumentalities, any instrumentality of more than one of the foregoing, and any
47	47	18instrumentality of any of the foregoing and one or more other states or political subdivisions,
48	48	19who engages the services of a Remote Employee, as defined in this section, for wages,
49	49	20remuneration or other compensation, except the United States government and the government
50	50	21of any other country shall not be considered an Employer.
51	51	22 Remote Employee. A remote employee is an individual who otherwise meets the
52	52	23definition of “employee” in G.L. c. 149, § 148B(a), who is hired to perform any labor or provide
53	53	24service for an Employer, as defined in this section, that includes reporting to and transmitting
54	54	25work product to that Employer virtually (including but not limited to by telephone, video,
55	55	26website, or internet application), and not by in-person means, regardless of where the work is
56	56	27physically performed.
57	57	28 Additionally, where a work transmitted virtually is made for hire, as defined in Section
58	58	29101 of Title 17 of the United States Code, and the ordering or commissioning Employer obtains
59	59	30ownership of all the rights comprised in the copyright in the work, the individual drafting the
60	60	31work for hire, in whole or in part, is included in this definition of Remote Employee.
61	61	32 B. Absent A Clear and Unmistakable Contractual Waiver, an affirmative choice of law of
62	62	33another jurisdiction in Which the Employee Transmits Work Product for an Employer Virtually 3 of 3
63	63	34or the Employer is Incorporated, and Affirmative Compliance with the Law of that Jurisdiction,
64	64	35Massachusetts Law Shall Apply to Remote Employees Performing Work Virtually for the
65	65	36Benefit of Employers Incorporated, Headquartered, or Operating in Massachusetts.
66	66	37 Unless clearly and unmistakably designated by a written, mutually executed contract
67	67	38between the parties (which contract is not a contract of adhesion but is instead individually
68	68	39negotiated between the parties) with a provision unequivocally establishing that the law of a
69	69	40jurisdiction where (1)a Remote Employee transmits work product to the Employer virtually or
70	70	41(2) the Employer is incorporated applies rather than the law of the Commonwealth and (3) the
71	71	42contract expressly provides for compliance with all legal obligations imposed by the jurisdiction
72	72	43relevant to the employment of the Remote Employee, the laws of the Commonwealth shall
73	73	44regulate all terms and conditions of a Remote Employee’s on behalf of an Employer.
74	74	45 A contract designating the choice of law as a jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth
75	75	46shall not be effective, however, upon a showing that the Employer has failed to comply with any
76	76	47legal obligation imposed by the jurisdiction concerning the working terms or conditions of the
77	77	48Remote Employee.
78	78	49 In such a case, the laws of this Commonwealth shall regulate the terms and conditions of
79	79	50a Remote Employee.
80	80	51 SECTION 2: SECTION 1 shall be enacted January 1, 2026.