(1) Employers may have their own sick leave
or paid time off policies, so long as all employees can use at least the same
amount of time, for the same purposes, under the same conditions, and with the
same job protections provided in M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C.
(2) Employers may have different paid leave
policies for different groups of employees, so long as all employees can use at
least the same amount of time, for the same purposes, under the same
conditions, and with the same job protections provided in M.G.L. c. 149, §
148C.
Example: An employer may provide all employees
working more than 20 hours per week with 80 hours of paid time off per benefit
year while per diem workers receive earned sick time at the rate of accrual of
one hour for every 30 hours worked.
(3) An employer's own paid time off,
vacation, sick leave, or other policy may be substituted for earned sick time
so long as 40 hours of time off provided under the policy, or such lesser
amount as each employee might earn if the employer were not using the
substitute policy, complies with all the provisions of M.G.L. c. 149, §
148C, and 940 CMR
33.00, including:
a) accrual
at the rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours of work;
b) pay at the employee's same hourly
rate;
c) access for all uses
authorized under M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C;
d) availability under the same conditions of
notice and documentation; and
e)
extension of the same job protections.
(4) Employers that provide employees with a
lump sum of 40 hours or more of sick leave or paid time off at the beginning of
each benefit year do not need to track accrual or allow any rollover, provided
that such leave is otherwise consistent with M.G.L. c. 149, §
148C.
(5) Employers that provide 40
or more hours of paid time off or vacation to employees that also may be used
as earned sick time, consistent with M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C, shall not be
required to provide additional sick leave to employees who use all their time
for other purposes (i.e., vacation or personal time) and have need of sick
leave later in the year, provided that the employers' leave policies make clear
that additional time will not be provided.
Example: A sporting goods store provides its
employees with 40 hours of paid vacation time that can also be used as earned
sick time, consistent with M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C. Does the store need to
provide any separate sick leave? No. A sporting goods store does not need to
provide additional sick leave, but the store must put employees on notice that
if they use all of their hours for vacation, there will be no additional sick
leave available.
(6)
Employers that have an unlimited sick leave policy shall not be required to
track accrual of sick leave or allow any rollover, provided that such leave is
otherwise consistent with M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C.
(7) Employers that wish to maintain separate
use policies for paid time off in excess of 40 hours may do so, provided that
they allow employees to designate which time is taken as earned sick
time.
(8) Employers that prefer not
to track accrual of sick time over the course of the benefit year may also use
the following schedules for providing lump sums of sick leave or paid time off
to their employees.
Employers using these schedules will be in compliance even if
an employee's hours vary from week to week. Employers may accelerate the
accrual or increase hours if they choose. Employees accruing earned sick time
on these schedules will have the right to rollover their sick leave up to 40
hours and accrual may be delayed while an employee maintains an unused bank of
40 hours.
For employees working an average of:
a) 37.5 - 40 hours per week, provide 8 hours
per month for 5 months.
b) 30 hours
per week, provide 5 hours per month for 8 months.
c) 24 hours per week, provide 4 hours per
month for 10 months.
d) 20 hours
per week, provide 4 hours per month for 9 months.
e) 16 hours per week, provide 3 hour per
month for 10 months.
f) 10 hours
per week, provide 2 hours per month for 10 months.
g) 5 hours per week, provide 1 hour per month
for 10 months.
