Employer Alert: MA Enacts COVID-19 Temporary Emergency Paid Sick Leave Program

June 16, 2021

On May 28, The Governor signed into law An Act Providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (MA EPSL), which is effective from May 28, 2021 until April 1, 2022 or the exhaustion of $75 million in program funds as determined by the Commonwealth, whichever is earlier.

  • An employee needs to self-isolate or receive medical care due to a COVID-19 diagnosis or symptoms, or get or recover from a COVID-19 immunization.

  • An employee needs to care for a family member who must self-isolate or receive medical care due to a COVID-19 diagnosis or symptoms, or get or recover from a COVID-19 immunization.

  • An employee has been ordered to quarantine by a local, state, or federal public official, a health authority having jurisdiction, or a health care provider.

  • An employee is unable to telework due to COVID-19 symptoms.

An employer is required to pay, and may seek reimbursement from the Commonwealth for, no more than $850 per employee (including the cost of benefits). 

Leave Amounts 

Employers must provide employees with the following leave:

  • Employees who work 40 hours per week: 40 hours total.

  • Employees who work less than 40 hours per week: Leave equal to the average number of hours the employee works per week.

  • Employees whose weekly hours vary from week to week: Leave equal to the average number of hours the employee was scheduled to work per week over the previous 6 months.

  • Employees with variable schedules who have not worked for the employer for 6 months: Leave equal to the number of hours per week the employee reasonably expects to work when hired.

MA EPSL is in addition to all other  paid or unpaid job protected leave that employers are required to provide to employees, including leave under the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law. Employers may not require an employee to use other forms of leave before using MA EPSL (unless required by federal law).

Interaction with Leave Under the FFCRA, the CARES Act, and/or ARPA

MA EPSL may be taken in addition to any FFCRA leave an employee has taken prior to May 28. If employees have not exhausted their federal leave, the state and federal leave may run concurrently on or after May 28, so long as the state mandate is met. When applying for reimbursement, employers must attest that they are ineligible for federal tax credits for any costs for which they are applying for state reimbursement.

Reimbursement

To receive reimbursement, an employer must require their employees to submit requests for COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave in writing. A standard employee request form is available here. More information about what is required in the employee’s written request and what information employers should collect in anticipation of applying for reimbursement can be found here. 

Notice

Employers are required to post a notice of the law in a conspicuous location accessible to employees. Notice requirements can be satisfied by using either a poster (available here) or a document (available here) provided by the Commonwealth. In cases where the employer does not maintain a physical workplace, or an employee teleworks or performs work through a web-based platform, notification must be sent via electronic communication or a conspicuous posting in the web-based platform.

For further information, contact  Allyson Kurker or Margaret H. Paget at Kurker Paget LLC.