Section 15. The persons or boards designated in section seven may, with respect to any legal holiday to which the provisions of sections five to eleven, inclusive, apply, grant for any such holiday any permit which could be granted under said section seven for the performance on Sunday of necessary work or labor, and, in addition, a permit for the performance of work on such holiday when due to special circumstances relating to manufacturing, serious production inconvenience, will result if such work is not performed on such holiday. In addition, such persons or boards may grant a permit for the performance of work on such holiday by clerical and office personnel in offices which are corporate offices or branches of interstate manufacturing operations working in other states on such holiday or in offices connected with manufacturing plants in the commonwealth whether or not production work is being carried on therein on such holiday, if inconvenience will result if such work is not performed on such holiday. The fee for such permits shall be set by the mayor of the city or the selectmen of the town, but in no event shall any such fee be greater than ten dollars.
Section five shall not prohibit work lawfully performed by persons working under permits granted under this section.
A permit under this section shall cover not more than one day. Application shall be made within sixty days prior to the day on which the permit is to be used, and the permit shall be issued or denied within fifteen days of application. Permits for work on legal holidays in stores covered by clause (50) of section 6 shall not be granted without the approval of the department of labor, which shall approve such permits only on a uniform basis statewide, but no such permit shall be required for such stores on the legal holidays covered by sections 13 and 16 and for the legal holiday, as defined in clause eighteenth of section 7 of chapter 4 on the day after Christmas Day in any year in which Christmas Day occurs on Sunday.