Paid advantages for family care now obtainable in Massachusetts – Massachusetts Attorneys Weekly

(Vitali Kradko / deposit photos)

Massachusetts employees are now entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid vacation to care for a family member in serious health.

The provision went into effect on July 1 under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML). This is the second service phase that comes into force under the new law. Most statutory benefits have been available since January 1, 2021.

The law created a program to provide paid vacation to all eligible W-2 employees in Massachusetts and some 1099 MISC employees. Overall, the program offers employees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, up to 20 weeks of paid sick leave or up to 26 weeks of combined family and sick leave in a performance year. The law requires that workers’ jobs be protected during their vacation.

According to the latest regulation coming into force, employees are entitled to the entire 12 weeks of vacation, even if they took vacation to care for a family member before July 1, 2021 of this year. This means that the vacation taken between January 1 and June 30, 2021 as part of a company vacation program to care for a critically ill family member – prior to the state PFML program taking effect – is not deducted from an employee’s 12 weeks will be allotment under the new state program this year.

However, the employee’s allocation under the PFML state law will be reduced if an employee took family leave to bond a child and / or care for an active-service family member between January 1 and June 30, 2021, and that leave was covered by state PFML law.

Here are two examples of the grant according to the State Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML):

• An employee who took 8 weeks of family leave to bond with their child in 2021 has only 4 weeks of family leave to care for a family member in serious health.
• An employee who took 20-week sick leave in 2021 has only 6 weeks of vacation to care for a family member in serious health.

What types of activities are covered?

The DFML said the types of activities that would be considered to care for a family member with serious health condition include, but are not limited to:

• Provision of daily living needs that the family member cannot meet due to their condition, e.g. B. help with getting dressed or eating.
• Transport to the doctor or other facilities for appointments and treatments.
• Support with your illness, such as B. taking it to therapy or medication appointments for severe depression.
• Make arrangements for changes in the care of the loved one, such as: B. moving to a nursing home.

Who is considered a family member?

The following persons are defined as “family members” in the law. An employee, regardless of where they live, can take paid family leave to care for a family member in serious health, including:

• Your spouse or life partner.
• Your children, including birth, adopted, foster, and / or stepchildren.
• Your parents, including biological, adopted, foster and / or step parents.
• The parents of your spouse or partner.
• Your grandchildren, including birth, adopted, foster and / or step-grandchildren.
• Your grandparents, including biological, adopted, foster and / or step-grandparents.
• Your siblings (organic and / or adopted).