By Susan Schoenfeld, JD, Senior Legal Editor
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In a move designed to ease Massachusetts employers' transition to the new state earned sick time law, state Attorney General, Maura Healey, recently announced a 6 month "safe harbor" delay on full implementation of the law—at least for some employers.
The new earned sick time law will still take effect on July 1, 2015 as planned. However, employers that satisfy the attorney general's safe harbor criteria will be deemed in compliance with the law, and the effective date of the law will be delayed until January 1, 2016 for those employers.
An employer falls within the safe harbor provision if:
- The employer has a paid time off policy in existence as of May 1, 2015;
- The policy provides employees the right to use at least 30 hours of paid time off during the calendar year 2015; and
- All time off taken between July 1, 2015 and January 1, 2016 is job protected, subject to the earned sick leave law's "non-retaliation and non-interference provisions."
Provided that all the qualifications described above are met, the employer will be considered in compliance with the earned sick time law with respect to those employees who receive such paid time off until January 1, 2016. Employers that currently offer paid time off to some employees but not others have the option of extending 30 hours of paid time off to those currently ineligible employees, so long as it is offered under the same conditions offered to eligible employees. In all other respects, during what the attorney general calls the "transition period," the employer may continue to administer its paid time off under policy in place as of May 1, 2015.
Employees that do not satisfy the requirements of the so-called "safe harbor" provision must comply with all provisions of the earned sick time law as of July 1, 2015.
By the end of the 6 month period between July 1, 2015 and January 1, 2016 all employers operating under the safe harbor provision must adjust their paid time off policy to conform with all provisions of the earned sick time law.
For more information on the Massachusetts earned sick time law, see:
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 Susan Schoenfeld, JD, is a Senior Legal Editor for BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. Ms. Schoenfeld has practiced in the area of employment litigation and counseling, covering topics such as disability discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and general employment discrimination. She has litigated numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals, state court, and at the U.S. Department of Labor.
In addition to litigating employment cases in state and federal court, she provided training and counseling to corporate clients regarding employment-related issues. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Schoenfeld was an attorney with the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where she advised federal agencies, drafted regulations, conducted inspector training courses, and litigated cases for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Directorate of Civil Rights, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Ms. Schoenfeld received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, with honors, from Union College, and her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University.
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Questions? Comments? Contact Susan at sschoenfeld@blr.com for more information on this topic
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