Massachusetts Leave Laws Expanded

(This post by Rick Dacri, January 30, 2015)

Massachusetts employers should be preparing for the enactment of two new leave laws: 1) Paid Sick Leave and 2)extension of the Parental Leave Law. Current leave policies should be revised, handbooks updated, supervisors briefed and employees updated.

Here’s a summary of the laws:

Massachusetts Parental Leave Extended

Massachusetts Gov. Patrick signed a bill into law that establishes parental leave in Massachusetts for both female and male employees. Effective April 7, 2015, the new law will replace the current Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (MLA), which provides only female employees with eight weeks of job-protected maternity leave for the birth or adoption of a child. Extending parental leave to male employees will require significant policy changes for Massachusetts employers with fewer than 50 employees, as they are not already covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which applies to both male and female employees.

Massachusetts Paid Sick Leave

Massachusetts voters approved a ballot referendum Nov. 4, 2014, that requires businesses to allow their workers to earn sick leave. Having a paid-time-off (PTO) policy in place can help employers comply with the new law, but only if the policy meets the statutory requirements. Under the measure, employers with 11 or more employees must let workers earn up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each calendar year. Those with 10 or fewer employees also must allow workers to earn 40 hours per year but the sick days don’t have to be paid. Both full-time and part-time employees are eligible to earn the sick time, under the measure. 

The ballot measure takes effect July 1, 2015. Employees must be allowed to begin accruing sick time on that date. New employees must be allowed to begin using their sick time 90 days after they are hired.

Sick time may be used if employees are ill or have a medical appointment, or if they must care for an ill family member. They also must be permitted to use sick time to receive assistance related to domestic violence.

Employees may carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick time to the next year, under the measure, but employers aren’t required to permit use of more than 40 hours of sick time in any calendar year.

Employers that already provide their employees paid time off under a PTO, vacation or other paid leave policy are not required to provide any additional paid sick time under the new law, provided they permit employees to use at least 40 hours per calendar year for the purposes covered under the law. Furthermore, this law does not override any employer’s obligations under any collective bargaining agreement, contract or benefit plan with more generous provisions.

Contact Rick Dacri for assistance in complying.

Twins Mean Twice the Leave

This question about Maternity Leave came from one of my Massachusetts HR HelpLine clients. The answer applies to Massachusetts’ companies only, but everyone will find the interpretation of the law interesting, to say the least.

Client Question: One of our employees is pregnant with twins and is expected to deliver in September. She told us her doctor is concerned about her high blood pressure and may want her to begin her leave in June. How much leave will she be entitled to?

Answer: This is a bit complicated because we must consider both the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (MMLA). (Note: this employee met all the eligibility requirements for both leave laws)

If the doctor puts her out on leave for the high blood pressure in June, she would qualify for a FMLA leave because she has a serious health condition, high blood pressure. She would be entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks unpaid leave. Potentially, if the condition did not improve she could be out until the birth of the child in September, exhausting her entire FLMA leave.

Upon the birth of the twins, she would now be entitled to leave under the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act.  Massachusetts’ law provides 8 weeks of maternity leave for giving birth. However, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has ruled that an employee who gives birth to twins has given birth two times and is entitled to eight weeks of leave for each child or 16 weeks in total.

So this employee may be eligible for 12 weeks of FMLA for her serious health condition, plus 16 weeks of MMLA leave for the birth of her twins, or a total of 28 weeks of unpaid leave.

If you need expert advice on employee issues, call the HR HelpLine. I provide operational advice, not legal advice, on how to address difficult employee and organizational issues. To learn more, click here.