G.L. c. 151B, §§ 4, 5, 9; Charland v. Muzi Motors, Inc., 417 Mass. 580 (1994)
Employment discrimination in Massachusetts — chapter 151B, and the 300-day clock
A claim in Massachusetts trial courts · Last verified August 26, 2026
Chapter 151B is the Massachusetts employment discrimination statute, and two features of it decide most cases before the merits are reached.
You cannot start in court. A charge must be filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination within 300 days of the discriminatory act. Miss it and the claim is barred.
It is the exclusive remedy. Charland v. Muzi Motors, Inc., 417 Mass. 580, 586 (1994): "where G. L. c. 151B is applicable, [it] provides the exclusive remedy for employment discrimination not otherwise based on preexisting common-law tort principles or constitutional protections." The wrongful-termination and emotional-distress counts a plaintiff wants to add are generally preempted.
What the claim is
Your employer treated you worse because of who you are, or punished you for complaining about it.
Where the right comes from
G.L. c. 151B, § 4, which lists the unlawful practices, with the procedure in § 5 and the civil action in § 9.
What a plaintiff has to prove
- Membership in a protected class, or protected conduct in a retaliation case;
- An adverse employment action — discharge, demotion, failure to hire or promote, a material change in terms or conditions;
- Qualification for the position or satisfactory performance; and
- A causal connection to the protected characteristic.
Massachusetts applies the familiar three-stage burden-shifting framework: the plaintiff makes out a prima facie case, the employer articulates a legitimate non-discriminatory reason, and the plaintiff shows that reason is a pretext. Massachusetts requires the plaintiff to prove pretext, and the SJC has held that proving the employer's stated reason was false can itself support the inference of discrimination.
Who is protected
Section 4 covers race, colour, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, military service, and pregnancy or a condition related to pregnancy, along with retaliation for opposing an unlawful practice or participating in a proceeding.
Two Massachusetts differences from federal law are worth knowing. Chapter 151B applies to employers with six or more employees, where Title VII requires fifteen — so smaller employers are covered here and not federally. And there is no statutory cap on damages, where Title VII caps compensatory and punitive damages by employer size.
The 300-day MCAD charge
This is the hard deadline, and it comes long before the three-year one.
File with the MCAD within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory act. Filing is jurisdictional in substance: a claimant who misses it loses the court claim as well, because exhaustion is a prerequisite to suit.
The continuing-violation doctrine can reach conduct outside the window where the discrimination was a continuing course rather than a discrete act. It applies most readily to hostile-environment claims and least readily to discrete decisions — a failure to promote or a termination starts its own clock on the day it happens.
Then wait 90 days. Under § 9, a claimant may bring a civil action after 90 days from filing the MCAD charge, or sooner if the commissioner assents in writing.
And file suit within three years of the alleged unlawful practice.
A charge filed with the federal EEOC is generally cross-filed with the MCAD under their work-sharing arrangement, but the safe course is to file with the MCAD directly and inside 300 days.
Exclusivity — what you cannot also plead
Charland holds chapter 151B exclusive for conduct within its scope. Section 9 states that "as to acts declared unlawful by section four, the procedure provided in this chapter shall, while pending, be exclusive."
Preempted: a common-law wrongful discharge claim for discriminatory termination; a claim under the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act for conduct covered by 151B; and, generally, an intentional infliction of emotional distress count resting on the same discriminatory conduct.
Not preempted: a pre-existing common-law tort independent of the discrimination — an assault, a defamatory statement, a breach of contract — and constitutional claims. The test is whether the claim rests on the discrimination or on conduct that would be tortious regardless.
The practical effect is that a Massachusetts discrimination complaint is usually a 151B complaint and little else. A plaintiff who bypasses the MCAD and pleads common-law claims instead usually finds they are preempted.
What has to happen before you file
The MCAD charge, within 300 days. Ninety days' wait, or the commissioner's assent.
A claimant may also choose to stay at the MCAD, which investigates, may find probable cause, and can hold a public hearing and award relief — an option with no filing fee, which matters for claimants without counsel.
What the claim pays
Back pay — lost wages and benefits from the adverse action to judgment.
Front pay, where reinstatement is not practicable.
Emotional distress damages, which in Massachusetts are frequently the largest element and are not capped.
Punitive damages, available under § 9 where the conduct warrants them — one of the few Massachusetts claims that carries them.
Mandatory attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff under § 9. A prevailing defendant may recover fees only in narrow circumstances, where the claim was frivolous — so the exposure is close to one-directional.
Twelve percent prejudgment interest, which on a case that spends years at the MCAD and then in court is substantial.
Reinstatement and injunctive relief.
No damages cap.
Who can be sued
The employer, with six or more employees.
An individual, under § 4(5), for aiding, abetting, inciting, compelling or coercing an unlawful practice — which is how a supervisor becomes a personal defendant. The individual must be named in the MCAD charge to be sued later, and failing to name them is a common and costly omission.
A labour organisation or employment agency, under the provisions addressed to them.
Common defenses
- A legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the action, with no pretext.
- Failure to exhaust — no MCAD charge, or one filed after 300 days.
- The individual defendant was not named in the charge.
- The employer has fewer than six employees.
- The plaintiff was not qualified, or performance was deficient in fact.
- Limitations — three years for the civil action.
- A statutory exemption, including the narrow religious-organisation provisions.
What people get wrong
You cannot go straight to court. The MCAD charge comes first, and 300 days is the deadline that matters.
Chapter 151B preempts the claims you want to add. Wrongful discharge and emotional distress counts based on the same discrimination generally fall.
The employer threshold is six, not fifteen. Massachusetts covers employers Title VII does not.
There is no cap. Federal caps do not apply to a 151B claim.
Name the individual in the charge. A supervisor can be personally liable for aiding and abetting, but only if they were named at the MCAD.
The 300 days runs from the act. For a discrete decision, that is the day it was made and communicated — not the day it took effect.
Where it came from
Massachusetts enacted chapter 151B in 1946, nearly two decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making it one of the earliest state employment discrimination statutes in the country. It was built around an administrative agency rather than the courts, on the theory that conciliation and investigation would resolve most complaints faster and more cheaply than litigation.
The private right of action came later, and the exclusivity rule is what preserved the original design. If a plaintiff could plead the same facts as a common-law tort and skip the MCAD, the agency would be optional and the scheme would collapse. Charland holds the line.
The statute has been amended repeatedly to add protected characteristics, and its coverage now exceeds federal law in several respects — a lower employee threshold, no damages cap, individual liability for aiding and abetting, and a longer charge-filing window than some states allow. What has not changed is the front door. Everything runs through the MCAD, and 300 days is not extended for not knowing that.
Common questions
How long do I have to file a discrimination claim in Massachusetts?
Three hundred days to file a charge with the MCAD. Then 90 days before suing, and three years from the unlawful act to file the civil action.
Do I have to file with the MCAD first?
Yes. Exhaustion is a prerequisite, and skipping it bars the court claim.
Can I also sue for wrongful termination or emotional distress?
Generally no. Chapter 151B is the exclusive remedy for conduct within its scope, and those counts are usually preempted.
Can I recover attorney's fees?
Yes. Fees and costs are mandatory for a prevailing plaintiff under § 9.
Is there a cap on damages?
No. Unlike Title VII, chapter 151B has no statutory cap, and emotional distress and punitive damages are available.
Can I sue my supervisor personally?
Yes, for aiding and abetting under § 4(5) — but only if you named them in the MCAD charge.