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Previous Updates
Lie Detector Test Notice
General Law - Part I, Title XXI, Chapter 149, Section 19B
Paid Family Medical Leave
PFML workplace poster, notices, and rate sheets for Massachusetts employers | Mass.gov
Veterans’ Benefits and Services Poster
Earned Sick Time Law
Veterans Poster
EEO-1 Reports
Employee Retention Status
Workers Compensation Poster
Paid Family and Medical Leave Guidance
Paid Family and Medical Leave
- the required posters displayed in conspicuous places in their workplaces;
- photographs showing that the required posters are conspicuously displayed;
- copies of the most recent workplace notices for individuals;
- confirmation regarding whether or not their workforces include five or more employees whose primary language is not English; and/or
- photographs showing both English and non-English translated posters for workforces where five or more employees have a primary language other than English.
Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML)
Parental Leave Act Guidelines
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/parental-leave-in-massachusetts#:~:text=Parental%20leave%20applies%20after%20you,state%20your%20intention%20to%20return.
Retail Worker Overtime
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Review last month’s FranklyHR for further PFML information and requirements.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law provides most Massachusetts employees the right to paid family and medical leave. Employer contribution rates may be adjusted on an annual basis, and the 2023 benefit contribution rate for employers has been reduced to .63% of eligible wages, down from the current rate of .68% of eligible wages (which are wages up to the social security contribution limit).
Revised Rates for MA PFMLA
- For employers with 25 or more covered individuals, for the family leave contribution, the employer can withhold .11% of eligible wages. As for the medical leave contribution, the employer can withhold .208% of eligible wages and is responsible for paying .312% of eligible wages directly.
- For employers with 24 or fewer covered individuals, for the family leave contribution, the employer can withhold .11% of eligible wages. As for the medical leave contribution, the employer can withhold .208% of eligible wages. For these smaller employers, the employer has no obligation to pay the employer share for medical leave.
Hairstyle Discrimination
Effective October 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act is amended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of natural or protective hairstyle.
Natural or protective hairstyle means hair texture, hair type, and hairstyles, including but not limited to braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots, and other formations.
Employees Entitled to Triple Damage for Late Final Wage Payments
Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that employees are entitled to triple damages for late final wage payments. Massachusetts has one of the strictest wage payment laws in the country, mandating automatic triple damages, attorneys' fees, and interest for even technical or unknowing violations. Previously courts would not assess the penalties if an employer paid the late wages prior to the employee filing a lawsuit.
When an employee is involuntarily terminated, the employer must provide the employee's final wages and the balance of any unused vacation time on the day the employee is terminated (voluntary termination payments can be made on the next regular payday).
Employers must be proactive and consider lining up the final paycheck in advance of the actual termination. In instances where the termination is unanticipated, you may want to consider suspension of the employee who has engaged in illegal or harmful conduct to prepare for final wage payment on the date of termination.
Reach out to your FrankAdvice HR Consultant for termination guidance and your Payroll Coordinator for processing of final wage payments.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the “Department”) has issued updates regarding the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“MAPFML”).
The Department has issued new FAQs for employers and employees:
- PFML frequently asked questions for employers has general information about PFML, the application process, managing paid time off and payments, and tracking other leave and income.
- PFML frequently asked questions for employees has general information, the application process, taking family leave to bond with a child, and how to change a current approved leave.
The Department also updated previously published guidance for employer use:
- PFML employer contribution rates and calculator helps employers in determining the mandatory payroll withholdings they must make.
- PFML workforce notifications and rate sheets for Massachusetts employers gives a link to the forms which all Massachusetts employers are required to distribute.
- Reimbursements for qualifying paid leave plans through PFML notes reimbursement eligibility, payments that may be eligible for reimbursement, and the application process for organizations that do not qualify for an exemption but do offer other paid benefits.
- Using the leave administrator dashboard for PFML applications shows how employers may easily use the dashboard to review PFML applications within the 10-day timeframe.
Additional resources and guidance are located on their website.
MA COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act Ends
As noted in a FrankCrum News Alert earlier this month, the Commonwealth announced that the act ends on March 15, 2022.
The act required an employer to provide an employee with up to forty hours of paid leave (a maximum benefit of $850 per week, reimbursable to the employer from the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Fund) for certain qualified reasons.
Employers may still submit applications for reimbursement after March 15, 2022, for leaves taken between May 28, 2021, and March 15, 2022. Applications for reimbursement must be submitted by April 29, 2022.
Learn more about the program and how to submit for reimbursement here. You may request a report from your Payroll Coordinator for MA COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave hours that have been paid.
Paid Leave Rate Increase
The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law provides most Massachusetts employees the right to paid family and medical leave.
Starting January 1, 2022, employers with 25 or more covered individuals will be required to remit a contribution to the Department of Family and Medical Leave of 0.68% of eligible wages. This contribution can be split between covered individuals' payroll or wage withholdings and an employer contribution.
Starting January 1, 2022, employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals must remit an effective contribution rate of 0.344% of eligible wages. This contribution rate is less because small employers are not required to pay the employer share of the medical leave contribution, reducing the total contribution amount.
Learn more about Massachusetts 2022 contribution rates here.
For workforce notifications click here.
Massachusetts employers are required to file quarterly reports and payment and FrankCrum can provide a file to you. If you would like a file provided by FrankCrum please reach out to your Payroll Coordinator.
Employers can click here for step by step instructions on how to file each quarter.
COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Extended
As noted previously in a FrankCrum News Alert, the law was amended on September 29, 2021, to extend the duration of the program and to expand the reasons employees may take leave under the law to include leave to care for family members receiving immunization or recovering from immunization.
Effective Friday, May 28, 2021, and until April 1, 2022, or the exhaustion of $75 M in program funds as determined by the Commonwealth, whichever is earlier, employers must offer Massachusetts employees up to 40 hours of leave time for qualifying reasons related to the pandemic.
Remember, you must indicate hours as MA EPSL if you wish them to be coded as such when submitting your payroll.
Additional updated guidance and information can be found here.
Paid Family and Medical Leave Update
Massachusetts rolled out its Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits in two phases, with most benefits available beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Paid leave benefits to care for a family member with a serious health condition went into effect July 1, 2021. Employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave has clarified that employees are eligible for 12 weeks of leave beginning on July 1, regardless of any leave taken prior to July 1, 2021, to care for a family member. Previous leave taken to care for a family member under another non-PFML program will not reduce an employee’s 12-week allotment under the PFML law to care for a family member with a serious health condition. However, if the employee took family leave to bond with a child or family leave to care for family members who are active service members between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2021, and that family leave qualified under the PFML law, that leave will reduce the employee’s PFML family leave allotment. Employees cannot exceed a total of 26 weeks of PFML leave in a benefit year.
Massachusetts Employers Must Provide COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave
As noted in a recent FrankCrum news alert, Governor Baker recently signed legislation for employers to provide Massachusetts’ employees with COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave (MA EPSL) when they are unable to work for qualifying reasons related to the pandemic. The law creates a state fund to reimburse employers for the costs of MA EPSL. This new paid leave entitlement begins on June 7, 2021 and runs until September 30, 2021, or until the fund is exhausted.
Employers must post notice in a conspicuous location accessible to employees and additionally provide a copy to each employee. If the employer does not maintain a physical workplace, or an employee teleworks, employers will be required to send notification via electronic communication or a conspicuous posting in the web-based platform.
You must indicate hours as MA EPSL if you wish them to be coded as such when submitting your payroll.
View the recently released FAQs.
Employees May Take Paid Family and Medical Leave for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition
Massachusetts provides paid family and medical leave to qualified current employees, former employees, and self-employed individuals. A covered individual may take leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition beginning July 1, 2021.
A covered individual may take leave for these other qualifying reasons beginning January 1, 2021:
- Bonding with a newborn child, newly adopted child or newly placed foster child;
- A qualifying exigency related to a family member's active duty or impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces;
- Caring for a family member who is a covered servicemember; and
- The covered individual's own serious health condition.
December 2020
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits become available on January 1, 2021. The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) released several resources including FAQs, information for employers, and a guide for employees. The Department also published the updated workplace poster for employers to display: PFML Workplace Poster.
The Department released the certification form required to be submitted to the Department with an employee or covered contract worker’s application for PFML leave under the public program for a serious health condition. The Department expects that applications for bonding leave for the birth, adoption or placement of a child will be available mid-December. Under the PFML Law, employers may apply for benefits on behalf of employees. However, the Department anticipates that this application process will not be available until later in 2021.
The Department also issued additional guidance regarding intermittent leave here.
Employers can provide the contact information for their Leave Administrator here. In the coming days, the Department will open registration to an Employment Portal where employers can self-register their leave administrators and manage communications with the Department.
October 2020
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) is a state-offered benefit for anyone who works in Massachusetts and they are eligible to take up to 26 weeks of paid leave for medical or family reasons. PFML is funded through a Massachusetts tax, and is separate from both the federally mandated benefits offered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and from leave benefits that may be offered by an employer.
Starting in January 2021, Massachusetts employees will be able to apply for PFML benefits.
For quarterly reporting, if you would like a file provided by FrankCrum please reach out to your Payroll Coordinator.
Click below to review the PFML employer toolkit:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/paid-family-and-medical-leave-pfml-fact-sheet
September 2020
Paid Family and Medical Leave Update
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has opened a new Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) contact center, for general questions about timelines, general eligibility, or where to find resources. For more information, employers can click here or call 833-344-7365.
