The Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Time law went into effect July 1st and entitles employees to earn and use up to 40 hours of sick time per calendar year. Learn more on the Attorney General’s office website.
Some other items of note for contractors and members not mentioned in the bulletin:
- Paid sick time does not include benefit contributions.
- Time worked outside of Massachusetts can be counted toward accrual of earned sick time as long as the employee spends the majority of his time working in Massachusetts.
- Example: A carpenter with a single employer works 40% of his hours in Massachusetts, 30% in New Hampshire and 30% in other states. Massachusetts is his primary place of work and all of his hours worked count toward the earned time off.
- Break in Service – If a worker has a break in service and returns to work with the same employer
- Within four months – All unused accrued sick time prior to the break in service is retained;
- Between four and 12 months – the employee will maintain the right to use his unused earned sick time provided he has 10 or more hours of unused accrued sick time;
- For all breaks in service less than 12 months, the employee will not need to restart the 90-day vesting period.
