The requirement to pay employees time-and-a-half on Sundays and holidays would be phased out over five years under a deal Massachusetts lawmakers are rushing to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk.

Massachusetts is one of two US states that have the requirement. Rhode Island is the other.

The retail industry is the business sector subjected to the requirement as part of operating on Sundays or holidays, though Amazon, the online retail giant with a facility in Fall River, is exempt.

The proposal to eliminate time-and-a-half pay calls for it to be phased out as a higher minimum wage is phased in.

The proposal has the minimum wage increasing from the current $11 to $12 on Jan. 1, 2019; $12.75 on Jan. 1, 2020; $13.50 on Jan. 1, 2021; $14.25 on Jan. 1, 2022; and $15 on Jan. 1, 2023.

California is the only state with a $15 minimum wage law that would be phased in by 2022.

The proposal in Massachusetts calls for time-and-a-half pay (currently 150 percent of your wage) falling to 140 percent of your wage on Jan. 1, 2019; going down to 130 percent on Jan. 1, 2020; 120 percent on Jan. 1, 2021; and falling to 110 percent in Jan. 1, 2022. It's completely phased out on Jan. 1, 2023.

If Massachusetts companies want to provide time-and-a-half pay or other incentives for employees to work on Sunday and holidays, they'd still able to, according to Jon Hurst, head of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

The lifting of the requirement for retail employees means "premium" pay, as time-and-half is sometimes called, becomes market-driven in that sector, Hurst said.

The requirement for time-and-a-half pay was never in place for government employees, hospitals or restaurants, it's whatever the market has called for, whether it's time-and-a-half, a comp day or other incentives, Hurst added.

The requirement for retailers to pay time-and-half for Sundays and holidays has irked the brick-and-mortar members of his association, who have argued in the current economy, the requirement was a burden that put them at a competitive disadvantage against online retailers like Amazon.

The elimination of time-and-half would hurt low-income and vulnerable workers, opponents say.

But if the minimum wage rose to $15 an hour while the time-and-half pay requirement stayed in place, retailers would be hit with a $22.50 an hour pay on holidays and Sundays, forcing them to likely close up shop on those days, according to Hurst.

"We wouldn't be pushing this [elimination of time-and-a-half pay] if the advocates weren't pushing for a $15 minimum wage," he said, referring to Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of labor, faith and community groups. Hurst's group is dropping a proposed sales tax cut ballot question due to the compromise bill headed to the governor's desk.

The compromise bill also includes an annual sales tax holiday weekend in August, something retailers have long pressed for.

But the Raise Up coalition has not decided yet whether to drop plans to move ahead with their own separate November ballot question raising the minimum wage to $15.

"Our coalition is also strongly opposed to the Legislature's decision to eliminate Sunday time-and-a-half pay, which cuts wages for thousands of retail workers who are working on Sundays to pay their bills," Raise Up Massachusetts said in a statement on Wednesday.

The group also expressed concerns that the minimum wage component of the legislation landing on Baker's desk "would not cover all workers, including some public employees."

The coalition added: "Over the next several days, we will continue having conversations among our coalition and expect to reach a decision on whether to take our minimum wage question to the ballot early next week."

The coalition has also pushed a ballot question mandating paid family leave and medical leave but is pulling back due to the compromise bill.

The compromise bill calls for 12 weeks of family leave for all workers and up to 20 weeks of medical leave.

The compromise emerged on Beacon Hill after months of talks between interest groups and legislative leaders, and after the Supreme Judicial Court knocked a proposed "millionaires tax" off the November 2018 ballot.

Baker, who called for a "grand bargain" that would keep the complex and controversial questions off the ballot, has not specifically said if he supports the proposal approved by the Legislature.

This post has ben updated to reflect that the proposal reduces time-and-half-pay as a percentage of your wage, not the minimum wage.

Material from Associated Press and State House News Service was used in this report.