Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 50 (2026)

Persons ineligible for civil service

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 50. No person habitually using intoxicating liquors to excess shall be appointed to or employed or retained in any civil service position, nor shall any person be appointed to or employed in any such position within one year after his conviction of any crime except that the appointing authority may, in its discretion, appoint or employ within such one-year period a person convicted of any of the following offenses: a violation of any provision of chapter ninety relating to motor vehicles which constitutes a misdemeanor or, any other offense for which the sole punishment imposed was (a) a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, (b) a sentence of imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for less than six months, with or without such fine, or (c) a sentence to any other penal institution under which the actual time served was less than six months, with or without such fine. Violations of statutes, ordinances, rules or regulations regulating the parking of motor vehicles shall not constitute offenses for purposes of this section.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1938–2018 · leading case: Crete v. City of Lowell, 418 F.3d 54 (1st Cir. 2005).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Crete v. City of Lowell, 418 F.3d 54 (1st Cir. 2005). · cites it 4× “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 50 . Nonetheless, the statute grants an exemption from that restriction.”

City of Springfield v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 14 N.E.3d 241 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 3× “268A, § 25, upon his indictment, and would have terminated him under G. L. c. 31, § 50, upon his conviction. 10 McDowell opposed the motion.”

Bos. Chapter, Naacp, Inc. v. Beecher, 295 F. Supp. 3d 26 (D.D.C. 2018). · cites it 3× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 50 . The government urges the Court to adopt all of Dr.”

Town of Plymouth v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 13 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 650 (Mass. 1997). · cites it 3× “The commission based this on its interpretation of the language of § 101A, and its practice of allowing flexibility in the treatment of civil service employees found to be in violation of G. L. c. 31, § 50, which states that “[n]o person habitually using intoxicating liquors to…”

Walsh v. Commissioners of Civil Serv., 15 N.E.2d 218 (Mass. 1938). “The petitioners also invoke the provisions of G. L. c. 31, § 50, respecting the civil service, which is in these words: “Nothing in this chapter shall repeal, amend or affect any special provision of law relative to any city or town, or extend to any city or town any provision…”

United States v. Boston, City of (D. Mass. 2018). · cites it 2× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 50 . The government urges the Court to adopt all of Dr.”

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.