Massachusetts Family and Medical Leave Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding Family and Medical Leave Laws in MassachusettsFamily and medical leave under the federal laws (FMLA) or the new Massachusetts Paid Family Leave Act is available to many employees in Massachusetts, and comes with important protections employers need to know about. Small businesses in particular, who never had to worry about FMLA compliance because they did not have 50 or more employees, now need to understand the state law requirements, which apply to all employers. Massachusetts also has a state law specific to earned sick time that employers and employees should be aware of in the event of illness. Below are some frequently asked questions about family and medical leave and earned sick time in Massachusetts, and links to their answers.
Eligibility for Family or Medical LeaveWhat are family and medical leave rights?
Who is eligible for federal family medical leave? Who is eligible for Massachusetts family medical leave? As a small business, do I have to provide family and medical leave? Does an employer have to provide leave beyond the time in the PFMLA? Massachusetts Paid Family Medical LeaveHow is Massachusetts Paid Family Leave funded?
What employers have to contribute to Massachusetts paid family medical leave? Can self-employed individuals get paid family medical leave? How much leave are employees entitled to? What is a "benefit year" for PFML? How much are PFML benefits? What notice do employers have to provide about Massachusetts paid family medical leave? How much notice do employees have to provide before taking leave? |
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After Family Medical Leave is RequestedWhat should I do if an employee requests family or medical leave?
What is retaliation under the PFMLA? Can I terminate an under-performing employee who takes leave? Can I hire a replacement for an employee out on leave? Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law |
Questions About A Family or Medical Leave Issue?
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Meet Our Employment Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients on both the employee and employer side with severance and non compete review and negotiation, wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, and navigating the nuances of the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped clients with independent contractor misclassification and wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, and review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna has helped clients with review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements, employee misclassification and wage and hour disputes, and advice to small business owners about employment law and other business matters.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients on the employee and employer side with all varieties of employment law issues, including independent contractor misclassification and wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements, and litigation in state and federal courts on employment related issues.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped clients with independent contractor misclassification and wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of employment and independent contractor agreements, and litigation in state and federal courts on employment related issues.
How We Can Help
We can help you navigate these issues and get clarity on your rights under the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Act and other laws that may protect you. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
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