By Peter Moser, Catherine Reuben, Alicia Ward October 17, 2021
In late September, the Massachusetts Legislature extended and expanded the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 Temporary Emergency Paid Sick Leave law.
The law, which was set to expire on September 30, 2021, and which required employers to provide up to one week of reimbursable paid leave to employees for certain COVID-19 related reasons, was extended through April 1, 2022 (or earlier if funding is exhausted) and was also expanded to cover several additional reasons for leave. The additional reasons for leave include an employee needing to take a family member to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination or needing to care for a family member recovering from a COVID-19 vaccination.
On October 5, 2021, the Commonwealth published a revised Notice to Employees reflecting these recent changes.
Employers should (a) post the updated Notice to Employees in a conspicuous location accessible to employees; and (b) provide a copy to their employees. For employers that do not maintain a physical workplace or for employers that have employees who work remotely, the notification obligations may be satisfied by sending the updated Notice to Employees via email or posting in a web-based platform.
Additional information concerning the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave program can be found at Massachusetts’ Guidance on the program, as well as in previous client alerts from September 30, 2021, July 12, 2021, and June 8, 2021.
For Questions/Compliance Assistance
If you have any questions about Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave and its potential impact on your business or organization, please contact:
