With the rescission of the mask mandate and industry guidelines, you may have thought you were in the clear with new COVID-19 compliance headaches. The Governor had other plans! As of last Friday, all Massachusetts employers now need to provide an additional 40 hours of paid sick leave to their employees.
This leave is effective from May 28 until September 30, 2021, or until the exhaustion of the $75 million in program funds, whichever is earlier. This new leave program largely mirrors the FFCRA’s emergency paid sick leave on a smaller scale – including the reasons for leave as well as obtaining documentation for reimbursement.
Massachusetts employers are required to provide emergency paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work for the following COVID-19-related reasons:
- an employee’s need to:
- self-isolate and care for themself because they have been diagnosed with COVID-19;
- get a medical diagnosis, care, or treatment for COVID-19 symptoms; or
- get or recover from a COVID-19 immunization;
- an employee’s need to care for a family member who:
- must self-isolate due to a COVID-19 diagnosis; or
- needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment for COVID-19 symptoms;
- a quarantine order or similar determination regarding the employee by a local, state, or federal public official, a health authority having jurisdiction, or a health care provider;
- an employee’s need to care for a family member due to a quarantine order or similar determination regarding the family member by a local, state, or federal public official, a health authority having jurisdiction, the family member’s employer, or a health care provider; or
- an employee’s inability to telework due to COVID-19 symptoms.
Implementation Facts:
- Full time employees will be eligible for 40 hours of COVID-19 Sick Leave. Part-time employees will be eligible for the number of hours they normally work in a workweek, on average.
- The employee will be paid at their regular rate of pay for every hour of leave, up to a maximum of $850 in total.
- The employer will apply for reimbursement with the state.
- You cannot require your employees to find a replacement worker for leave under this law.
What about Reimbursement?
If you want to receive reimbursement from the state, you must obtain a verification form from your employee that includes the following information:
- The employee’s name;
- Date(s) leave is requested and taken;
- Statement of the COVID-19 related reason the employee is requesting leave and written support for that reason; and
- Statement that because of COVID-19 the employee is unable to work or telework.
For leave requests based on a quarantine order or self-quarantine advice, the statement from the employee must also include:
- the name of the governmental entity ordering quarantine or the name of the health care provider advising self-quarantine; and
- if the person subject to quarantine or advised to self-quarantine is not the employee, that person’s name and relation to the employee.
You will also need:
- Employee’s SSN or Tax ID Number;
- ID Number (if any) associated with the position they took leave;
- Length of leave in hours and wages paid that are not eligible for Federal tax credits;
- Benefits applicable to employee taking leave; and
- Number of hours the employee is regularly scheduled to work.
Questions about this new leave and implementation? Contact us!