Earned Sick Leave is Here

Effective July first, 2015 all employers will have to offer a sick leave benefit which is at least as generous as the new state law requires.

Brief Summary of the Law

    • Employers must provide all employees, including part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees, one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. Employers with 11 or more employees must provide paid sick time; employers with fewer than 11 employees must provide unpaid sick time.
    • Qualifying reasons for taking sick time under the law include (1) caring for a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition affecting the employee or the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse; (2) attending routine medical appointments of the employee or the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse; or (3) addressing the effects of domestic violence on the employee or the employee’s dependent child.
    • Employees begin accruing earned sick time on the law’s effective date or their date of hire, whichever is later, but are not entitled to use any earned sick time until they have been employed for 90 days. Employees who were employed as of April 2, 2015 may begin using time as it accrues beginning on July 1, 2015.
    • Employees may carry over up to 40 hours of sick time from one year to the next, but may not use more than 40 hours of sick time in any one year.
    • Employers are not required to pay employees for accrued but unused sick time at the time of termination.
    • The use of earned sick time is job-protected leave. Employers may not interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of an employee’s rights under the law. Employers may not retaliate against employees for exercising their rights under the law.
    • The smallest amount of accrued sick time an employee can use is one hour. For uses beyond one hour, employees may use earned sick time in hourly increments or in the smallest increment the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or other time.
    • Employees may not use earned sick time as an excuse to be late for work without an authorized purpose.
    • If an employee commits fraud by engaging in an activity that is not consistent with the allowable purposes for leave, or the employee exhibits a clear pattern of taking leave on days just before or after a weekend, vacation, or holiday, then the employer may discipline the employee for misuse of earned sick time (unless the employee provides verification of authorized use).
  • This is not a freebie.  Some restrictions apply
    • The smallest amount of accrued sick time an employee can use is one hour. For uses beyond one hour, employees may use earned sick time in hourly increments or in the smallest increment the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or other time.
    • Employees may not use earned sick time as an excuse to be late for work without an authorized purpose.
    • If an employee commits fraud by engaging in an activity that is not consistent with the allowable purposes for leave, or the employee exhibits a clear pattern of taking leave on days just before or after a weekend, vacation, or holiday, then the employer may discipline the employee for misuse of earned sick time (unless the employee provides verification of authorized use).
  • For more information, the legal advisors to the Massachusetts Staffing Association have a more detailed explanation

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