Healey: Draft regs make earned sick time law rules clear
Three months into her new job, Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday offered draft regulations aimed at laying out clear rules for Massachusetts employers to begin providing earned sick time benefits to 1 million workers by July 1.
Healey's office announced a series of six public hearings and three listening sessions to accept feedback on the regulations, which declare that earned sick time "can be used for routine or emergency medical visits and travel time, if they or a family member are sick or to address issues of domestic violence."
The regulations also allow seasonal workers to carry unused sick time from season to season, and employees would begin to accrue sick time on the date of their hire and be required to make a "good faith effort" to notify their employers of their intention to use sick time.
Under the 2014 ballot law, which was approved the same day that Healey was elected, employers with 11 or more workers must provide workers with up to 40 hours a year of paid sick leave. Businesses with less than 11 employees must provide earned sick time but are not required to pay employees for the time they are out of work.
Listening sessions on the regulations are planned for May 8 in Brockton, May 11 in Salem and May 15 in Lowell. Public hearings on the regulations are set for May 18 in Boston, May 22 in Framingham, May 29 in Springfield and Pittsfield, June 1 in Fall River, and June 5 in Worcester. Public comments may be submitted until June 10.
A Healey spokesman said the law goes into effect on July 1, and workers will begin accruing earned sick time on that day, or their first day of work after that date.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts, an employer trade group, has called for a Jan. 1, 2016 effective date for the new law, saying employers won't have enough time to comply with the new mandates.
On Twitter Monday, the Massachusetts affiliate of the National Federation of Independent Business urged state representatives to back a House budget amendment offered by Minority Leader Brad Jones delaying the law's implementation until Jan. 1.
In a blog post Monday, AIM staff said the draft regulations "represent a mixed bag for employers."
"It is enormously important now for employers to read the proposed regulations and provide comments about what is good and what remains a challenge," Brad MacDougall, vice president of government affairs at AIM, said in the blog post. "Employers need to be part of this process since labor unions and other groups will be pushing during the public hearings to make the rules more Draconian."
According to AIM, most employers will be pleased that the rate of pay for earned sick time for most employees is the employee's base hourly/salary rate, employers may choose any consecutive 12-month period as their earned sick time calendar year, and employers may provide good-attendance rewards and discipline in cases of fraud or abuse of the program.
Under its "disappointing" label, AIM said the regulations apply to all employees, including temporary, part-time, seasonal employees and interns, employees with a break in service of less than one year return to work with full credit for prior service and prior unused accruals, and employees who work in multiple states, but primarily in Massachusetts, will be able to count their non-Massachusetts hours towards their accrual of earned sick time.
In a statement, Healey said, "Employees shouldn't have to worry about whether they can afford to take a day off if they get sick or whether they might lose their job if their child needs to see a doctor. These regulations lay out clearly the rights and responsibilities employers and employees have under the new law. The business community has been at the table throughout this process and we look forward to their continued engagement and ongoing dialogue with workers and community leaders about how to implement a law that will make Massachusetts a leader in providing earned sick leave to all workers."
Raise Up Massachusetts, the coalition that led the push last year for the ballot law as well as increases in the minimum wage, is this session pressing for passage of bills establishing paid family and medical leave for all workers, establishing a $15 an hour "living wage" for big box and fast food retail workers, and asking higher income residents to pay more for transportation and education investments.
Gov. Charlie Baker proposed an alternative to the sick leave ballot question during last year's campaign.
"I didn't campaign against earned sick time, per se, but I didn't support the ballot question that was before the voters, and the main reason for that is it's the broadest, most restrictive, most comprehensive earned sick time policy in the country by a wide margin," Baker said Jan. 15 when asked by a radio show caller about taking a sick day himself.
Baker said he made a "series of proposals" during his campaign that he thought would be "easier" for small businesses and "more flexible" because companies vary in their policies. His proposals would have been less expensive to implement and easier to enforce than the ballot question, he added.
"I'm a big believer in earned sick time, I just felt that that law in particular would have some unintended consequences," Baker said. "We're going to implement it enthusiastically and see where it goes, and I certainly hope that it doesn't have some of the unintended consequences that I was concerned about."
Last October, before the statewide vote, Baker said the ballot question "puts us at a significant disadvantage."
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