The laws governing mandatory health insurance for all employees and the legal responsibilities of employers will be changing as of January 1st. The healthcare assessment on employers takes effect as of Tuesday. This mandate is scheduled to expire on 12/31/2019, but I wouldn't bet on it. The new law assesses a fee on employers with 6 or more employees who have employees that receive health insurance through MassHealth or ConnectCare. The fee is assessed for each employee on MassHealth and is capped at $750 per employee per year. The law also increased existing EMAC rates from $51 per employee to $77 . Below you will find links to an overview of the new law along with the regulations. Your attorney and/or your State Representative should be able to answer any questions you might have.

• Employer Health Updates
  
• EMAC Regulations
  

As for minimum wages in 2018...the three-year $1 increase per year ended in 2017 setting the minimum wage at $11 per hour, There is no mandatory increase this year. However, we can expect that a public referendum will make the ballot in 2018, asking for a new three-year plan beginning in 2019 that would increase the minimum wage $1 per year, and ending at $15 per year in 2021.