A provision in the enacted state budget for fiscal year 2023 would have amended the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) to provide employers and employees more flexibility to use other accrued benefits to...more
On September 29, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed an extension of the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Law, which was set to expire September 30, 2021, and expanded slightly the reasons for...more
On May 28, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law “An Act Providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave.” The act requires eligible Massachusetts employers to provide emergency paid sick...more
On May 28, 2021, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the “Act Providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave.” This legislation originally reached Governor Baker in early April as part of the “Act Financing...more
Last week, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation providing for COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave for Massachusetts employees. Governor Baker vetoed an earlier version of the bill in April. The revised bill,...more
On Friday, May 28, 2021, Governor Baker signed a law requiring Massachusetts employers to provide job-protected paid leave to their employees for certain reasons related to COVID-19 (the “Leave”). Eligible employers may seek...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation on May 28 creating another statewide mandate for employers to provide emergency paid leave related to COVID-19. The COVID-19 Paid Leave obligations outlined in this...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 1, 2021, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a new law that, among other issues, addresses the solvency of the Commonwealth’s unemployment compensation fund by imposing an excise on wages...more
Yesterday Governor Charlie Baker signed into law a bill that provides tax relief to Massachusetts employers. The new legislation freezes employer contributions to the unemployment system for 2021 and 2022 and it also...more
Across the nation, states have been stepping up to minimize legal risks to health care workers as they continue the fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic. Massachusetts became the most recent state to take steps to...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a series of orders on Sunday in the Commonwealth’s latest efforts to deter the spread of COVID-19. The most recent steps include statewide school closures, a prohibition on any...more
Employers will now have extra time to comply with the Paid Family Medical Leave Act, G. L. c. 175M (“Act”), and more clarity on how to do so, thanks to delays implemented by state leaders and regulations issued by the...more
On June 11, 2019, following pressure from business leaders, Massachusetts state officials agreed to a three-month delay before companies are required to make payroll tax contributions to the new Massachusetts Paid Family and...more
Employers in the Commonwealth are fast discovering that the new Massachusetts Paid Family Leave Law, M.G.L c. 175M (“MAPFML”), which begins to phase into effect June 30, 2019, asks much of employers, both administratively...more
On June 28, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law An Act relative to minimum wage, paid family medical leave and the sales tax holiday, compromise legislation also known as the “Grand Bargain.” The new...more
On June 28, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed House Bill 4640, “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday” (“Act”). Rather than leave the issues to voters this...more
On June 28, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a comprehensive bill requiring employers in the state to provide workers with paid family and medical leave. The bill, titled “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid...more
On June 28, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday” (HB 4640) into law. Last week, we covered three major changes the Act makes to...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed a sweeping bill that, over a period of five years, will: (1) raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour; (2) mandate paid family and medical leave for Massachusetts employees; and...more
In one fell swoop, Massachusetts has set in motion a plan to increase its minimum wage to $15.00 per hour and create a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program as the result of a “grand bargain” between employee...more
On June 20, 2018, the Massachusetts legislature passed House Bill 4640, “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday.” The bill increases minimum wage, eliminates premium Sunday pay...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In July 2016, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law An Act Relative to Housing, Operations, Military Service, and Enrichment (“The HOME Act”). The HOME Act requires employers to provide paid leave to...more