The Massachusetts’ Attorney General’s office issued transition relief on May 18th, 2015 for some employers in regards to the state’s new Sick Time Leave Law.
The law will still go into effect on July 1st, 2015. However, a safe harbor has been put in place for employers that have existing Paid Time Off policies.
Here are some key points that have been issued regarding the transition period:
- For the period July 1 to December 31, 2015, any employer with a paid time off policy in existence as of May 1, 2015, providing to employees the right to use at least 30 hours of paid time off during the calendar year 2015 shall be in compliance with the law with respect to those employees and to any other employees to whom the use of at least 30 hours of paid time off under the same conditions are extended.
- To remain in compliance, any paid time off, including sick time, used by an employee from July 1 to December 31, 2015, must be job protected leave subject to the law’s non-retaliation and non-interference provisions. In all other respects, during this transition period, the employer may continue to administer paid time off under policies in place as of May 1, 2015.
- On or before January 1, 2016, all employers operating under this safe harbor provision must adjust their paid time off policy to conform with the earned sick time law.
Please stay tuned to CBG Benefits for additional information on this topic.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact us at 781-759-1222 or via email at info@CBGBenefits.com.