Boston Lawyer BlogMassachusetts’ New Paid Sick Leave Law Provides Important Benefits to Many Workers
On November 4, 2014, Massachusetts voted in favor of a ballot initiative that requires employers with 11 or more employees to provide their employees with paid sick time. Massachusetts is now the third state in the nation to enact paid sick time protection for employees. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, 2015 and will be enforced by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, provides a significant benefit and protection against retaliation or interference with taking protected earned sick time for a number of workers across the Commonwealth.
The law will require employers with 11 or more employees to provide one hour of paid time off to employees for every 30 hours worked, with a maximum of 40 paid hours in a year. In determining the number of employees, all employees performing work for compensation on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis are counted. The paid sick time may be used in several different circumstances: 1) to care for the employee’s own physical or mental illness; 2) to care for the employee’s sick family member, including a child, spouse, or parent; 3) to attend or accompany a family member to a routine medical appointment; or 4) to deal with the physical, psychological, or legal consequences of being a victim of domestic violence.
