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New Massachusetts Law Provides COVID-Related Emergency Paid Leave To Employees
By: Matthew Mitchell & Amanda Thibodeau
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Leave Act (the “Act”) on May 28, 2021.
Under the COVID-19 Emergency Leave Act:
- Massachusetts employers are required to provide COVID-19 Emergency Paid Leave benefits (up to $850) to employees who are unable to work for certain specified reasons related to COVID-19.
- A $75 Million fund (the “Trust Fund”) is created to reimburse employers for financial costs related to compliance with the Act.
All Massachusetts employers, regardless of size, are subject to the Act, and all Massachusetts employees, regardless of full-time or part-time status, are eligible to receive paid leave benefits under the Act.
Employer obligations under the Act commence on June 7, 2021, and remain in effect through September 30, 2021, or until the Trust Fund is exhausted. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development is expected to publish clarifying regulations in coming weeks.
The key aspects of the Act are summarized in our COVID-19 Alert.
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Update: Governor Baker and Legislative Leaders Issue Joint Statement Delaying Employer Contributions
By: Amanda Thibodeau
On June 11, 2019, Massachusetts government leaders announced their intent to amend the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (the “PFMLA”) to delay the employer payroll tax contribution start date, required by the PFMLA, to October 1, 2019 (from the prior start date of July 1, 2019). In connection with the announcement, Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo issued the following joint statement:
“To ensure businesses have adequate time to implement the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, the House, Senate, and Administration have agreed to adopt a three month delay to the start of required contributions to the program. We will also adopt technical changes to clarify program design. We look forward to the successful implementation of this program this fall.”
The announcement appears to be a response to concerns raised by industry groups related to compliance deadlines associated with the rollout of PFMLA. The changes to the PFMLA described in the announcement still require confirmation by both the House and Senate, and the scope of the other “technical changes” to the PFMLA anticipated in the announcement remains unclear.
Morse is monitoring developments concerning the PFMLA, and will provide further updates as appropriate. For additional information concerning the PFMLA, please see Morse’s prior alerts on the subject:
For more information, please contact Matthew Mitchell or Amanda Thibodeau.
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Update: Department Sets May 31, 2019 Deadline for Employers to Comply with Notice Requirements
As we have reported, although the employee benefits provisions of the Massachusetts Paid Medical and Family Leave Law (the “PFML”) do not go into effect until 2021, employer compliance obligations under the PFML begin as early as the spring of 2019. A number of these early compliance hurdles flow from the PFML’s notice requirements.
The PFML requires that employers provide clear and advance notice, to their workforces, of the rights provided under the law. This requirement includes: (a) providing employees and independent contractors with so-called “Written Information Notices;” and (b) posting approved Workplace Posters.
On April 17, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the “Department”), the state agency charged with administering the PFML, published template Written Information Notices and Workplace Posters forms here. In connection with the publication of these templates, the Department instructed that employers must provide their workforces with the compliant Written Information Notices (and presumably post compliant Workplace Posters) by May 31, 2019. The Department also provided the following details with respect to the compliance requirements related to the Written Information Notices:
- The Written Information Notice must be provided to all employees and independent contractors, engaged by the employer as of May 31, 2019.
- The Written Information Notice may be provided electronically, but must include the opportunity for an employee or independent contractor to acknowledge receipt or decline to acknowledge receipt of the information. The employer can receive these acknowledgments in paper form or electronically.
- In the event that an employee or independent contractor fails to acknowledge receipt, the Department shall consider an employer to have fulfilled its notice obligation if it can establish that it provided to each member of its current workforce notice and the opportunity to acknowledge or decline to acknowledge receipt.
- With respect to providing Written Information Notices to W2 employees:
– The Employer must issue a Written Information Notice to each employee within 30 days of their first day of employment. The Written Information Notice must be written in the employee’s primary language.
– Employers may use the Department template or create a customized Written Information Notice for distribution to employees. If an employer elects to customize a Written Information Notice, the custom notice must contain:
– An explanation of the availability of family and medical leave benefits
– The employee’s contribution amount and obligations
– The employer’s contribution amount and obligations
– The employer’s name and mailing address
– The employer identification number assigned by the Department
– Instructions on how to file a claim for family and medical leave benefits
– The mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the Department.
- With respect to providing Written Information Notices to Independent Contractors:
– The Employer must issue a Written Information Notice to each independent contractor, when the employer enters into the contract for services. The Written Information Notice must be written in the independent contractor’s primary language.
– Employers may use the Department template or create a customized Written Information Notice for distribution to independent contractors. If an employer elects to customize a Written Information Notice, the custom notice must contain:
– An explanation of the availability of family and medical leave benefits, and the procedures for independent contractors to become covered individuals under the PFML.
– The independent contractor’s contribution amount and obligations if they were to become a “covered” individual under the PFML.
– The employer’s contribution amount and obligations.
– The employer’s name, mailing address, and email address.
– The employer’s identification number assigned by the Department.
– Instructions on how to file a claim for family and medical leave benefits.
– The address and telephone number of the Department.
Failure to provide these required notifications may result in fines of up to $300 per violation.
For more information on the PFML, please contact Matthew Mitchell or Amanda Thibodeau.
Massachusetts Employment Law Blog 