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Two Little-Known Programs Help Seasonal Employers

Posted on March 21, 2023

It is not too soon for employers with seasonal employees to prepare for the summer. Massachusetts offers two programs that may help seasonal employers – the seasonal employment certification program administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and an overtime-waiver program administered by the Department of Labor Standards (DLS).

DUA seasonal employment program

The seasonal employment program has been around since the 1980s but remains relatively little known and little used.  While participation in the program may provide an employer financial relief at certain times of the year by reducing or eliminating unemployment insurance costs, the complexities of applying for, and complying with, the program present obstacles.

The program provides participating employers the ability to operate without paying unemployment insurance taxes for covered seasonal employees. Because the program provides employers with a significant cost savings, participation in the program has strict criteria. If your company meets the requirements, it is worthwhile to apply for and participate in the program.

An employer interested in applying for the 2023 summer season must apply soon as applications are due at least 60 days in advance.

While most seasonal-employer applications are for the summer months, the program is not limited to the summer and employers may apply for the seasonal-employer designation for other times during the year.

The Massachusetts unemployment insurance law (MGL Ch 151A) defines a seasonal employer as one that, “because of climatic conditions or the nature of the product or service, customarily operates all or a functionally distinct occupation within its business only during a regularly recurring period or periods of less than 20 weeks for all seasonal periods during a calendar year.”

The statute makes it clear that the burden is on the employer to show that the operation of the business is a functionally distinct or completely seasonal operation. An example of a seasonal employment situation would be a hotel that operates a miniature golf course or an outdoor ice cream stand on the grounds during the summer and the employees of the golf course or ice cream stand do not work in the hotel as well.

The statute defines a seasonal employee as one who has been:

  • employed by a certified seasonal employer in seasonal employment during a regularly recurring period or periods of fewer than 20 weeks in a calendar year for all seasonal periods, as determined by the commissioner, and
  • hired for a specific temporary seasonal period as determined by the commissioner; and
  • notified in writing at the time hired, or immediately following the seasonal determination by the department, whichever is later: that the individual is performing services in seasonal employment for a seasonal employer; and the individual’s employment is limited to the beginning and ending dates of the employer’s seasonal period as determined by the department.

Overtime waiver for seasonal employers

The overtime-waiver program administered by the Department of Labor Standards is perhaps even less known than the seasonal-unemployment program. The minimum-wage statute in Massachusetts provides for number of exemptions, including an exemption from the requirement to pay overtime for “… a business or specified operation of a business which is carried on during a period or accumulated periods not in excess of one hundred and twenty days in any year and determined by the commissioner to be seasonal in nature”.

To apply for this program, an employer must submit a completed application to the Department of Labor Standards. Te application requires a fee of $200.

Employers interested in learning more about these programs or any other employment matter may call the AIM Employer Hotline at 800-470-6277. Top of Form