Massachusetts New Sick-Leave Law

How does the new sick leave law affect employers and employees in Massachusetts?

In the November 2014 elections, Massachusetts approved an amendment to the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 149, requiring employers to allow workers to earn sick leave. The new measure should take effect on July 1, 2015 and employers must allow employees to being accruing sick time at that time.

What Does This Mean for Employers?

The new bill establishes different requirements depending on the number of employees within the organization. An "employee" is defined as any full-time, part-time, or temporary staff performing work for compensation for the organization. Employers with eleven or more employees are required to provide up to forty hours of paid sick leave each calendar year. Employers with ten employees or less are required to provide up to than forty hours of unpaid sick time. In addition, employers are required to allow employees to carry over up to forty hours of unused sick time.1 The employer is not, however, required to pay out any unused sick time if the employee is terminated or leaves his or her position for other reasons.

For all employers, a minimum of one hour of earned sick time shall be provided for every thirty hours worked by an employee, and such accrual shall commence on the date of hire, or on the day the law becomes effective, whichever is later. Employers will allow employees to begin using their earned sick time ninety days after accrual commences. However, the bill does not discourage any employer from keeping or establishing more generous policies, allowing for a faster rate of accrual for sick time or use of such days at an earlier date.

The bill also stipulates that employers are responsible for counting and keeping track of the accrual of hours and the subsequent use of earned sick time. Employers that already provide paid time off, vacation, or other paid leave policy, which make sufficient time available for both the sick time accrual and use requirements of the bill, do not have to implement an additional policy to satisfy the bill.

An employer can require that certification of the illness or injury must be provided when sick time is used for more than a twenty-four period. However, the employer is restricted from delaying the commencement of the use of sick leave because certification of the illness or injury has not yet been provided.2 An employer is also restricted from interfering with or restraining the use of earned sick time, nor can the employer use the use of sick time as a negative factor in evaluations, promotion considerations, disciplinary actions or termination. In addition, an employer cannot retaliate against an employee for the employee's support of another employee's exercise of the sick time rights of the new bill.

What Does This Mean for Employees?

The amendment provides that employees may use the earned sick time in any of the following ways: (1) to care for the employee's child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse, who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care; or (2) to care for the employee's own physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care; or (3) to attend the employee's routine medical appointment or routine medical appointment for the employee's child, spouse, parent, or parent of spouse; or (4) to address the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence (as defined in a difference chapter).3 Where the use of sick time is foreseeable for the employee for the above reasons, a good faith effort to notify the employer should be made before the sick leave is used.

If an employee exercises his or her right to be absent from work for the above mentioned reasons, he or she may request to work an equivalent number of extra hours or shifts during the same or next pay period of the absence in order to not use the accrued or earned sick time.4 However, the employer cannot require the employee to work extra hours or shifts if the earned sick time is used.

How Can Counsel Help?

Before the bill takes effect in July, employers should be sure to check with counsel about the viability of their current policies or the implementation of new plans in order to meet the new requirements of the bill. As mentioned above, many employers existing paid time off policies will satisfy the requirements as-is, or with very few changes. Before assuming your policy is in compliance, you should discuss with counsel to be sure that all of the requirements are met by your existing plan. In addition, employers should inform and provide training sessions for management and employees in supervisory positions on the bill's new requirements and any policy changes that are needed in order to comply with such requirements. Employers should also consider revising any handbooks or policy statements to reflect the changes in the law and inform employees of his or her rights.

1Despite carrying over sick time, employees are still not allowed to use more than forty hours of sick time each calendar year.

2The certification must not require the employee to provide any protected information from the health provider.

3See Question 4: Earned Sick Time for Employees, available at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ele14/pip144.htm

4This must be agreed upon by both the employer and employee before the extra hours are worked and the absence occurs.

Keywords: sick leave, employment law, Massachusetts