Massachusetts Provides Paid Sick Leave Safe Harbor: Employment Law Manual Updated

Authors: Melissa Burdorf and Marta Moakley, XpertHR Legal Editors

With Massachusetts' paid sick leave law set to take effect July 1, 2015, the state's Attorney General has announced a safe harbor provision for employers that already provide paid time off for their employees. From July 1 to December 31, 2015, an employer will be deemed in compliance with the paid sick leave law if it has a policy in place as of May 1, 2015, that provides employees with the right to use at least 30 hours of paid time off during calendar year 2015. Employers using the safe harbor provision have until January 1, 2016, to revise their paid time off policies to conform with the paid sick leave law. However, employers must comply with the law's nonretaliation and noninterference provisions starting July 1.

In light of this development, the following Massachusetts sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated: