On Nov. 4, 2014, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure to provide earned paid sick leave to employees. The mandate is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2015.
To help you understand how this may impact your business, we have provided a brief overview below.
Who is Affected by this Law?
- Employers with 11 or more employees must allow all employees to earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year
- Employers with fewer than 11 employees must allow all employees to earn and use up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per calendar year
How is Leave Time Earned?
- Employees will earn a minimum of one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked up to a maximum of 40 hours per calendar year
- Employers may restrict the use of accrued sick leave for the first 90 days of employment
- Employees must be permitted to carry over up to 40 hours of earned but unused sick leave into the next calendar year. The law does not require employers to allow employees to use more than 40 hours in a calendar year.
What Can the Leave Time Be Used For?
Under the law, an employee may use sick leave to address items such as:
- Caring for a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition affecting the employee or his or her child, spouse, parent or parent-in-law
- Attending routine medical appointments of the employee or his or her child, spouse, parent or parent-in-law
- Addressing the effects of domestic violence on the employee or his or her dependent child
Additional Information
I hope that you find this brief summary of the Paid Sick Leave law helpful.
Of course, there are many other items that employers must consider. For example, what happens if you currently offer paid time off under a PTO policy? What sort of requirements do employees have in regards to notifying or providing documentation to their employer?
To find answers to these questions, I encourage you to download our Compliance Bulletin about this law in our CBGconnect portal.
If you do not have access to CBGconnect but would like a copy of the bulletin, please contact our team at info@CBGBenefits.com.