Massachusetts caps a staffing agency transport fee at 3 percent of an employee's total daily wages (Massachusetts General Court). The fee also cannot push daily wages below the minimum wage earned for the day, according to Massachusetts General Court. Managers who check pay before approving hours can run both limits as a test on each temp's day.
Key takeaways
- Compare each transport fee with 3 percent of one temp's total daily wages before signing that day's hours.
- Check the pay that remains after the fee against the minimum wage earned for that day.
- Request the means of transportation and each fee in writing before the first shift.
- Note whether a charge came from the staffing agency or the work site employer on the pay record.
- Keep any personal property or excess fee ready to return when the temp asks.
This article covers the five limits named in the title. The goal is a practical check you can run on pay before the timesheet is signed.
Why agency transport fees hit timesheets
A transport fee sits between the agency's billing and the temp's paycheck, so it changes the daily wage figure that a manager reviews. Hours can look right on a timesheet while the pay does not match, so the review needs the fee line as well. Massachusetts law lists details of transportation and any fees among the items the text covers, according to Massachusetts General Court, so the charge belongs inside the review rather than after the hours are approved.
A practical habit is to place the day's pay line beside the hours line before you sign. Noting the staffing agency name and any transport fee for each temp makes the deduction easy to find on payday. For further reading, see timesheet approval and edit rules. Keeping that fee note with the same week's timesheet means a suspicious charge can be spotted before payroll closes.
Who is a staffing agency, work site employer and employee
The text defines a staffing agency as "an individual, company, corporation or partnership that procures or provides temporary or part-time employment to a person who then works under the supervision or direction of a work site employer," according to Massachusetts General Court. Under that wording, the agency is the party that places the temp, while the temp works under the direction of another business. A manager at a work site should confirm which firm arranged the placement before reading any transport charge.
The second definition describes a work site employer as the business that takes on agency temps under an agreement with the agency, according to Massachusetts General Court. For a manager, that business is where the temp works under direction, so the placement and the site belong on the same line of the record. A useful habit is to ask the agency which business holds the agreement for each temp, then write that name beside the hours.
The employee definition covers "a person employed directly by a staffing agency to provide temporary or part-time employment services to a work site employer or a person for whom a staffing agency procures or arranges temporary or part-time employment with a work site employer," according to Massachusetts General Court. That wording reaches temps who are placed as well as temps employed directly, so the pay record should show the agency name either way. A short note for each temp that names the agency, the work site employer and the employee keeps the record aligned with those definitions.
Because the fee wording names both the staffing agency and the work site employer, according to Massachusetts General Court, a deduction may trace to either party, so the record should separate them. Naming the party in each question keeps the review specific to the fee on that line.
The 3 percent cap
The sentence that sets the cap says that, where there is a fee to cover transportation service costs for each employee, the fee cannot exceed 3 percent of that employee's total daily wages, according to Massachusetts General Court.
The starting point is one temp's total daily wages for one day, since the cap is measured against that base. The 3 percent figure is only the cap ceiling, according to Massachusetts General Court. The minimum wage floor can lower the permitted fee, so the largest permitted fee is the lower of 3 percent of that total and the amount that keeps pay at or above that day's minimum wage earned. Then compare the agency's transport charge against that figure, so the comparison shows whether the fee sits inside the cap.
If the transport fee is above 3 percent of that total, it exceeds the cap in the cited text, according to Massachusetts General Court, so raise the amount above the cap with payroll before approving the hours.
The cap applies to the fee that covers transportation service costs for each employee, according to Massachusetts General Court, so keep any other charge on a separate line for its own review.
Illustrative example: one temp's day
Take an illustrative temp whose total daily wages are 800. Three percent of 800 is the cap, and the fee must also leave pay at or above that day's minimum wage earned. If the agency's charge is above the cap, or the pay left after the charge falls below that floor, hold the approval and raise it with payroll.
The minimum wage floor
The same sentence adds a second limit, and it says the fee shall not reduce total daily wages below the minimum wage earned for the day, according to Massachusetts General Court, so the floor and the cap test the same daily figure.
The check starts with the total daily wage, then subtracts the transport fee, and compares the remainder with the minimum wage for that day. Use the minimum wage figure for that same day.
A short shift needs the closest look, because a deduction takes a larger share of a smaller wage. The same fee can sit inside the cap yet still crowd the floor, so both tests belong on the same line.
Writing the minimum wage figure used for each day beside the calculation lets a later reviewer repeat the same check.
If the deduction would push pay below the floor, hold the approval and raise the question with payroll. For further reading, see wage deduction checks and payroll handoff checks.
Disclosure of transport details
One listed item in the text reads "(6) details of the means of transportation to the worksite and any fees charged to the employee by the staffing agency or worksite employer for any transportation services," according to Massachusetts General Court, and it names the transport details that go with the fee.
A useful habit is to request the means of transportation and each fee in writing before the first shift starts. The request should name the worksite, because the text refers to details of the means of transportation to the worksite, according to Massachusetts General Court, so the destination is part of the record.
The written details can be matched against the pay record, and any fee without a matching line stands out. A mismatch between the two is a question to raise before the hours are approved.
The request should go to the party that charged the fee, which the pay record should identify. When the agency and the work site employer both appear on the pay record, the request may need to reach both, since the text covers fees charged by either one for transportation services, according to Massachusetts General Court.
Return of property, excess fees and penalties
The text lists refusal to return items as prohibited conduct, with the wording "(4) refuse to return on demand any personal property belonging to an employee or any fee or cost that is charged or accepted by a staffing agency or work site employer in excess of the amounts allowable under this section," according to Massachusetts General Court, so the request from the employee drives the timing.
The property in question is personal property that belongs to the employee, according to Massachusetts General Court, so note any such item a temp leaves or hands over at the site.
The penalty sentence is the fifth limit in the title, and it reads "(g) Whoever violates this section shall be punished or shall be subject to a civil citation or order as provided in section 27C," according to Massachusetts General Court.
The penalty sentence gives no figure, so this article gives none, and a reader facing a dispute should check the section 27C text directly.
The table below summarises the cited Massachusetts text, with its page and the wording used here.
| Publisher | Page | Wording used |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts General Court | General Law - Part I, Title XXI, Chapter 149, Section 159C | Transport fee capped at 3 percent of total daily wages; fee cannot reduce total daily wages below the minimum wage earned for the day |
The next step is to check one agency temp's daily wages against the 3 percent cap this week, using that day's total wage before you approve the timesheet.
FAQ
What is the transport fee cap?
Under the cited text, the transport fee is capped at 3 percent of total daily wages, according to Massachusetts General Court, which is the figure to check against each day's pay. Keep the calculation with the timesheet record so the check can be repeated. The text limits a fee "if any," so a day with no transport fee has nothing to compare.
Can fees reduce pay below minimum wage?
No, a transport fee cannot leave a temp's daily wage below the minimum wage for that day, according to Massachusetts General Court. The check should run after the fee is subtracted, not before, so the result shows the pay that remains. If the remaining pay is lower than that floor, stop the approval and raise the deduction with payroll.
Who is a work site employer?
The text defines a work site employer as "an individual, company, corporation or partnership with which a staffing agency contracts or otherwise agrees to furnish persons for temporary or part-time employment," according to Massachusetts General Court. Naming that business on the record ties each fee question to a specific party.
What happens on a violation?
The penalty clause ties a violation to punishment, or to a civil citation or order, under section 27C, according to Massachusetts General Court. A deduction that breaks any of the five limits in this article is a matter to raise with payroll in writing. Keep the written record of the deduction and the disclosure so the question can be reviewed. The clause is the text's own consequence, so this article does not describe any penalty beyond that clause.
Which parties can charge a transport fee?
Either the staffing agency or the work site employer can charge a transport fee, according to Massachusetts General Court, so the record should name the party that made each charge. Each transport line can be checked the same way, whichever party it names.
Does this apply outside Massachusetts?
The rules here come only from Massachusetts law, so they do not cover other states. Rules for other states need their own official source, so check that state's text before applying any figure from this article. The Massachusetts page is named in each citation above, so the scope is easy to confirm.