Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law – Are you compliant?
January 13, 2016 10:24 amAs of July 1, 2015 the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148C, took effect. Depending upon size of the business, most Massachusetts employers are subject to this new law. MA Sick Time Law may be broadly applied but it does not impact every employer the same. Let’s look further at this new law and guide you to some resources that will aide your Human Resources Department as well as companies who operate without one.
In brief the MA Earned Sick Time Law allows that all employees who work predominantly in Massachusetts are eligible to earn sick time. It, however, does not impose the same requirements on all employers. Employers that maintained an average of 11 or more employees on its payroll during the preceding benefit year must offer paid sick leave. Employers that maintained an average of less than 11 employees need only provide unpaid sick leave. Employers determine their average number of employees by dividing the total number of full-time, part-time, and temporary employees on their payroll during each pay period by the number of pay periods.
More specifically, for employees and businesses that fit this description, eligible employees must accrue sick time at a minimum rate of 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked,(3) up to a cap of 40 hours per benefit year.(4) Salaried employees must accrue sick time based on their “normal work week,” which is assumed to be 40 hours per week unless their job specifies a lower number.
To find further resources on this law as well as complete summaries, complete regulations and frequently asked questions see the following links:
AIM Webinar on Earned Sick Time Massachusetts
In House Advisor
TriNet: How Earned Sick Time will Impact your Business
Categorised in: Blog, Human Resources
