Massachusetts has established a statewide mandate for employers to temporarily provide employees up to 40 hours of COVID-19 Massachusetts emergency paid sick leave (MA EPSL) when they.
Massachusetts has established a statewide mandate for employers to temporarily provide employees up to 40 hours of COVID-19 Massachusetts emergency paid sick leave MA EPSL when they are unable to work due to specific qualifying reasons related to the pandemic.
Sunday, February 21, 2021
One year into the pandemic, life feels as uncertain as ever. This uncertainty extends to questions about employee rights and protections in the workplace. Some new rights have come to be or may be on the horizon, and other existing rights have been illuminated. However, across the spectrum of employee rights and protections, there are still major gaps.
What’s New
While not specifically enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, parts of the new Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Act went into effect on January 1, 2021. Employees are now entitled to paid, job-protected leave for a number of reasons, including their own serious health condition, for which an employee is entitled to up to 20 weeks of paid leave per year. Beginning on July 1, 2021, employees will also become entitled to paid leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition for up to 12 weeks per year.