As discussed in the previous blog, the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law[1] is reality and every employer with employees in Massachusetts must comply.  How you choose to comply varies by employer. Here are some examples:

  • Client A previously offered employees 2 weeks of vacation time after 1 year of employment. Rather than offering an additional 5 days of paid time off to their employees, they have chosen to turn that vacation time into Paid Time Off (PTO). Pfautz Consulting modified their policy to include scheduled absences such as personal time and vacation time and the four (4) reasons defined in the Law for which an employee can take sick time. Other edits included changes to the accrual rate beginning with the first day of work and details on when and how the time can be used. We made it clear what the call in procedures are and emphasized that should someone use all their PTO for a scheduled absence they would not be afforded additional sick time.
  • Client B was offering sick time but only to their full-time employees. The policy statement was expanded to include accrual and use by part-time employees.
  • Client C offered employees 12 paid holidays each year. Rather than be faced with additional wage and productivity burdens, they chose to turn 5 of those paid holidays into sick time. Granted this might not have been the most employee-friendly interpretation of the law but, since by law no company in Massachusetts needs to offer paid holidays, they were within their right to do so.

Other clients are fortunate that they have time to consider the impact of the law on their policies – since there is a safe harbor that applies to those currently offering paid time off. However, these employers are not off the hook since they need to comply with the law by January 1, 2016.

If you are up against a time crunch to get this new law into effect at your organization, or simply would like assistance in applying the law’s requirements to your business, please contact Pfautz Consulting Group, LLC. We will work with you in developing a sound practice and policy.

 

1 940 CMR: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CMR 33.00 EARNED SICK TIME; http://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/regulations/940-cmr-33-00.pdf