On May 28, Governor Baker signed legislation requiring all Massachusetts employers, including municipalities to provide up to 40 hours of COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave (“EPSL”). This is a shift from April when Governor Baker rejected a prior version of the bill, returning it to the Legislature with an amendment excluding municipalities from the definition of covered employers. The Legislature, however, rejected the Governor’s amendment and re-enacted its earlier version. This is the version that was signed into law. Under the new law, employers are required to provide EPSL to employees who are unable to work for the following qualifying reasons:

  • An employee’s need to self-isolate due to a COVID-19 diagnosis, obtain a diagnosis, care or treatment for COVID-19 symptoms, or obtain a COVID-19 vaccination or recover from an injury, illness, or condition related to the vaccination;
  • An employee’s need to care for a family member who is self-isolating due to a COVID-19
    diagnosis or who needs diagnosis, care, or treatment for COVID-19 symptoms;
  • An employee subject to quarantine order or similar determination by the employee’s health care provider, or an employee’s need to care for a family member subject to a quarantine order or determination by the family member’s health care provider;
  • An employee’s inability to telework because of the employee’s COVID-19 diagnosis and
    the employee’s symptoms inhibit his or her ability to telework.

Similar to the provisions of the federal FFCRA, employers are required to provide EPSL in addition to other leave provided by either the employer’s policies, CBA, or federal law, and may not require employees to use other forms of leave before taking EPSL, unless required by federal law. The bill’s provisions include an EPSL fund to reimburse employers, including municipalities, for the cost of providing paid sick leave. Employers who seek reimbursement through the EPSL fund, however, may not also seek reimbursement through payroll tax credits provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

The Commonwealth’s new EPSL provisions are effective immediately until September 30, 2021, or until the fund is depleted, whichever occurs first. Additional guidance is expected in the next few weeks regarding the employer reimbursement application process.