New hiring laws in Massachusetts for 2027: pay data, ICE inspection notices, PFML and what employers do next

As of October 2026, the Massachusetts changes that matter for hiring in 2026 and 2027 are mostly about reporting and notices. Employers with 100 or more employees filed EEO data reports with the Secretary of the Commonwealth by February 1, 2026 and file again by February 1, 2027; since August 5, 2026 every employer must notify employees within 48 hours of an ICE notice to inspect Form I-9 records; and on January 1, 2027 the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) contribution split changes, with new workforce notices for new hires. The two-business-day cure period for pay range postings ends October 29, 2027.

Each item is an enacted chapter of the Acts or a date set by the Attorney General's Office or the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML), linked below. The standing checklist (registration, the pay range rule at 25 employees, CORI and salary history limits, all-party recording consent) is in our Massachusetts hiring hub; this page covers what is new.

Which Massachusetts hiring rules changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

What must Massachusetts employers do when ICE asks to inspect I-9 forms?

Tell employees in writing within 48 hours. Section 8 of Chapter 163 of the Acts of 2026 (H.5620), approved August 5, 2026, adds to G.L. c. 149, § 19C: "Except as required by federal law, not later than 48 hours after receiving a notice of inspection by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for I-9 employment eligibility verification forms or other employment records, each employer shall provide written notice to each employee of any such request." The act carries an emergency preamble, and section 8 is not among the sections given a later start date, so it applied from approval.

The rule covers every employer, not a size band. Prepare a short notice template now, name who sends it, and keep a copy with the inspection file. Our Form I-9 audit checklist helps you get the records right before anyone asks, and E-Verify requirements in Massachusetts covers the related verification rules.

What changes in Massachusetts PFML on January 1, 2027?

Who pays which part. Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2026 (H.5470), approved June 12, 2026, swaps the 40% and 100% figures in G.L. c. 175M, § 6, and DFML says it "shifts employer contributions from medical leave to family leave, effective January 1, 2027," a change meant to "mitigate the impact of recent IRS guidance on the tax treatment" of PFML benefits. For employers with 25 or more covered individuals, DFML's 2027 table shows up to 0.28% of eligible wages withheld from employees for family leave with the employer paying 0.42%, and up to 0.18% withheld for medical leave. Employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals remit 0.46%.

This matters at hire because G.L. c. 175M, § 4 requires each employer to give every new employee, "not more than 30 days from the beginning date of the employee's employment," written information on benefits and on "the employee's contribution amount and obligations." DFML's home page says "updated posters and workforce notices will be published in early November," so new hires starting in late 2026 and in 2027 should receive the version that shows the new split.

What are the EEO data reporting deadlines?

February 1 each year for employers with 100 or more Massachusetts employees that file with the federal EEOC. Chapter 141 of the Acts of 2024 (the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act) requires a covered employer to submit "a copy of its EEO-1 data report for the prior year" annually by February 1, EEO-3 and EEO-5 reports in odd-numbered years and EEO-4 reports in even-numbered years. The Attorney General's Office lists February 1, 2026 as the first EEO-4 deadline, and February 1, 2027 brings the EEO-1 plus the odd-year EEO-3 and EEO-5 filings. Only employers already required to file with the EEOC must file with the state. The act also directed the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to publish aggregate wage and workforce data, with a further report due by June 1, 2026. See our guide to EEO-1 reporting requirements.

Penalties are a warning for a first offense, up to $500 for a second and up to $1,000 for a third. The Attorney General's pay transparency page says that "until October 29, 2026, covered employers will have 2 business days to cure defects" in EEO reporting after a Notice to Cure; after that date the cure window is gone.

When does the Massachusetts pay range grace period end?

October 29, 2027. Since October 29, 2025, employers with 25 or more Massachusetts employees must "disclose the pay range for a particular and specific employment position in the posting," under G.L. c. 149, § 105F, and "posting" includes recruitment "done directly by a covered employer or indirectly through a third party," so agency postings count. The act gives covered employers two business days to cure a defect after notice for the first two years; the Attorney General's Office applies that to postings "until October 29, 2027." Postings made by the same employer within 48 hours count as one offense. Details, examples and the range rules are in our Massachusetts pay transparency guide.

What did not change in 2026?

• Salary history still may not be sought before an offer with compensation; see the Massachusetts salary history ban.
• Non-competes still follow the 2018 Noncompetition Agreement Act; see Massachusetts non-compete law.
• Recording an interview still needs every party's consent under G.L. c. 272, § 99; see the Massachusetts wiretap law for interviews.
• AI hiring tools are still governed by general anti-discrimination law rather than an AI statute; see AI hiring laws by state.

What should Massachusetts employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Swap the PFML notice. When DFML publishes the November 2026 workforce notice, use it in onboarding packets, and keep handing it out within 30 days of each start date.
2. Reset payroll withholding for January 1, 2027 so the employee share matches the new family and medical split.
3. Write an I-9 inspection notice. Draft the 48-hour employee notice and assign an owner.
4. Calendar February 1, 2027. Pull the 2026 EEO-1 (and EEO-3 or EEO-5 if you file them) for the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
5. Fix postings now. Treat the October 29, 2027 end of the cure period as the last date you can rely on a second chance; check agency and job-board postings too.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Massachusetts?

Agencies carry two of these directly. Pay range postings they run for a covered client count as the client's postings, so the range must be in the ad; and an agency that employs its temporary workers owes them the PFML notice within 30 days and the new withholding split in January. An agency is also an employer for the I-9 inspection notice if ICE inspects its own records. Licensing is unchanged; see our Massachusetts staffing agency license guide.