Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XVI Chapter 112
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112, § 134 (2026)

Social workers; practice of social work by certain parties

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Section 134. Nothing in sections one hundred and thirty to one hundred and thirty-seven, inclusive, shall be construed to prevent qualified members of other professions or occupations such as licensed physicians, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed psychologists, members of the clergy, attorneys, clinical members of the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, school adjustment or school guidance counselors who are employed by recognized private educational institutions while performing those duties for which they are employed, registered occupational therapists or certified occupational therapist assistants who are certified by the American Occupational Therapy Association, certified rehabilitation counselors who are certified by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification of the National Rehabilitation Counselors Association and the American Rehabilitation Counselors Association, from doing work of a social service nature; provided, however, that they do not hold themselves out to the public by any title or description stating or implying that they are engaged in the practice of social work, or that they are licensed to practice social work or independent clinical social work.

Nothing in sections one hundred and thirty to one hundred and thirty-seven, inclusive, shall prevent the practice of social work by students of social work or social work interns or persons preparing for the practice of social work under qualified supervision in a recognized educational institution or facility so long as they are designated by such titles as ''social work student'', ''social work trainee'', or ''social work intern'', or others clearly indicating such training status.

Nothing in sections one hundred and thirty to one hundred and thirty-seven, inclusive, shall prevent the practice of social work or the use of the official titles social worker or social work associate by individuals employed in state, county, or municipal governmental agencies, provided that such persons are performing those activities as part of the duties for which they are employed or solely within the confines or under the jurisdiction of the agency in which they are employed.

A license to practice social work shall not be a requirement for qualification for civil service examinations nor shall it be a requirement for employment in any state, county, or municipal agency.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1996–2023 · leading case: Bernard v. Commonwealth, 424 Mass. 32 (Mass. 1996).
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Bernard v. Commonwealth, 424 Mass. 32 (Mass. 1996). · cites it 4× “His practice of social work, however, is permitted by the third paragraph of G. L. c. 112, § 134, which provides for governmental employees as follows: “Nothing in sections one hundred and thirty to one hundred and thirty-seven, inclusive, shall prevent the practice of social…”
Carter v. Bowie, 736 N.E.2d 385 (Mass. 2000). “social workers” to do “work of a psychological nature consistent with the accepted standards of their respective professions” provided they do not hold themselves out to the public as “psychologists”); G. L. c. 112, § 134 (allowing “qualified members of other professions or…”
Huffman v. City of Boston (D. Mass. 2023). “The operative memorandum2 pertaining to CISDs provides that: “All interactions between [Boston Police Critical Incident Support Team] members with Boston Police personnel during any type of team intervention shall be kept strictly confidential, in accordance with the provisions…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.