Insights

Reminder to Massachusetts Employers: Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Become Available on January 1, 2021

Action Items for Employers

  • Determine whether you qualify for a PFMLA exemption, and if so, submit your application.
  • Calculate the number of your covered employees and corresponding financial obligations; make appropriate payroll withholdings; ensure timely completion of quarterly filings.
  • Review your company’s policies on medical and family leave to ensure compliance with the PFMLA.
  • Prominently hang the PFMLA poster (link HERE) in your physical workspace and provide translated posters in any language that five or more of your employees speak as their primary language.
  • Provide written notice to your Massachusetts employees about PFMLA benefits available and retain an acknowledgement of their review of the notice. For a state-provided template of this notice, click HERE (for employers of 25 or more) or HERE (for employers of fewer than 25).

Background

In 2018, Massachusetts passed the Paid Family Medical Leave Act (“PFMLA”). While many employers have been focused on issues arising out of the pandemic, it is time for employers to turn their thoughts back to the PFMLA, under which employees become eligible for leave starting on January 1, 2021. We provide this summary as a refresher.

The PFMLA established a Commonwealth-run program that provides eligible Massachusetts employees (and certain independent contractors) with up to 26 total weeks of paid leave for certain qualifying family and medical reasons. As discussed in prior Choate Alerts, the PFMLA is separate and apart from other government-mandated leave programs such as the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The PFMLA – most of which goes into effect on January 1, 2021 – covers nearly all employers (regardless of size), unless they offer an approved private plan that provides equal or greater benefits. However, smaller employers (those with fewer than 25 employees) can pass along the full cost of the company’s contributions to the program.

Key Employee Benefits under the PFMLA

Below is a chart summarizing the leave for which employees will be eligible.  Note that while payments to qualifying employees during their leave will be made by the Commonwealth, employers must protect employees’ jobs during their PFMLA leave.

PMFLA Exemptions

Employers may seek an exemption from the requirement to make contributions to the Commonwealth to fund the PFMLA.  Employers qualify for an exemption if they already provide their employees with paid family leave and/or paid medical leave benefits that are at least as generous as those provided by the new law.  Employers may apply for exemptions from the medical leave contribution requirement, the family leave contribution requirement, or both.

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave is accepting applications for exemptions on a rolling basis, but they must be approved in the quarter prior to the quarter in which they will go into effect. According to the Department, a determination is usually made within 1-2 business days of an application’s submission. Employers with previously approved exemptions must submit their 2021 renewal applications by no later than December 31, 2020.

 

If you have questions regarding these developments to paid leave rights, please contact a member of the Labor, Employment & Benefits team. 

About the authors: Alison Reif is a partner in Choate’s Labor, Employment & Benefits Group and Michael Foley is an associate in Choate’s Litigation Department.