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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 614 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4019
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Shirley B. Arriaga
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to ensure fair compensation for warranty service labor.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Shirley B. Arriaga8th Hampden1/10/2025 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 614 FILED ON: 1/10/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4019
By Representative Arriaga of Chicopee, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4019) of
Shirley B. Arriaga relative to compensation for warranty service labor. Labor and Workforce
Development.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act to ensure fair compensation for warranty service labor.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 9 of chapter 93B of the General
2Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended striking out clause (ii) and
3inserting in place thereof the following clause:-
4 (ii) The retail rate customarily charged by the dealer for labor may be established by: (A)
5using reasonable labor time allowances defined by the retail labor time guide reasonably utilized
6by the dealer for nonwarranty, customer-paid service repair orders; or (B) submitting to the
7manufacturer or distributor 100 sequential nonwarranty, customer-paid service repair orders or
860 consecutive days of nonwarranty, customer-paid service repair orders, whichever is less,
9covering repair orders made not more than 180 days before the submission and dividing the
10amount of the dealer's total labor sales by the number of total labor hours that generated those
11sales. The labor time allowances rate or average labor rate shall be presumed to be fair and
12reasonable. The labor rate shall go into effect 30 days following the declaration, subject to audit 2 of 2
13of the submitted repair orders by the franchisor and a rebuttal of the declared rate, if the dealer
14used an average labor rate calculation. If the declared rate is rebutted, the manufacturer or
15distributor shall propose an adjustment of the labor rate based on the rebuttal not later than 30
16days after submission. If the dealer does not agree with the proposed labor rate, the dealer may
17file an action in a court of competent jurisdiction not later than 30 days after receipt of the
18proposal by the manufacturer or distributor. In any action commenced under this paragraph, the
19manufacturer or distributor shall have the burden of proving that the rate declared by the dealer
20was inaccurate or unreasonable.
21 SECTION 2. Paragraph (3) of said subsection (b) of said section 9 of said chapter 93B, as
22so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- For the purposes of this
23paragraph, “fair and reasonable compensation” shall be the reasonable labor time allowances
24defined by the retail labor time guide reasonably utilized by the dealer for non-warranty,
25customer-paid service repair orders.