Your Small Business and Paid Family Leave
Paid Family Leave- a Game Changer for Small EmployersIn the past, only businesses with over 50 employees needed to consider mandatory family and medical leave under federal law, and it was traditionally unpaid. However, recent changes in Massachusetts have made it crucial for businesses of all sizes to address their leave policies.
Fully effective as of July 1, 2021, the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave program requires most employers, regardless of size, to provide job-protected family and medical leave to their employees. While small employers aren't responsible for funding the paid leave, there are essential aspects of the law that you need to be aware of. Failing to do so could expose your business to costly employee lawsuits and potential liability. Massachusetts Paid Family Leave BasicsThe Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFLMA) is funded through employee contributions via payroll deductions. Employers with more than 25 employees had to share a portion of these contributions, while smaller employers could deduct 100% from employee earnings. These funds will be used, similar to payments into the unemployment fund, to provide a paid weekly benefit to eligible workers.
Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks per benefit year for family leave, including the birth or adoption of a child, caring for an ill family member in military service, and after July 1, 2021, caring for a family member with a serious health condition. They can also take up to 20 weeks for their own serious health condition, but the total leave in a benefit year for any purpose cannot exceed 26 weeks. While you don't have to pay employees directly during their leave, it's crucial to understand that this is job-protected leave. When the employee returns, they must be reinstated to their original position or an equivalent one. Leave should not impact their seniority, advancement, or accrual of sick or vacation time. If your business provides health insurance or other benefits, you must also continue those benefits during the employee's leave. What You Need to Know About RetaliationThe Massachusetts Paid Family Leave law prohibits retaliation against an employee for taking leave under the PFLM program. Small businesses should note that "retaliation" may cover a broader range of actions than expected.
For example, if an employee is on leave for the full 26 weeks, a small business may need to make organizational changes during this time. If these changes result in not needing the employee upon their return, the business must find a comparable role with the same compensation. Additionally, if an employee who was already struggling with job performance takes PFML, the law presumes any termination or demotion within six months of leave is retaliatory. To avoid potential damages, it's essential to handle such situations carefully. |
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How You Can Protect Your Business
As a business owner, there are steps you can take to protect your business from liability under PFMLA:
- Understand the Process: Gain a basic understanding of how the PFML process works. The state offers an employer's guide to paid family and medical leave, which covers the basics and frequently asked questions.
- Establish a Leave Handling Process: Document a clear process for handling leave requests from employees. This ensures compliance with PFMLA guidelines, including the process for bringing an employee back to work.
- Review Employment Policies: Consider reviewing and revising your employment policies, especially feedback and discipline policies, for all employees. Clear, written feedback can serve as evidence of a legitimate reason for discipline or termination if an employee returns from leave and continues to struggle. Make sure to establish and document pre-leave policies that justify any actions taken.
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 advice about employment law generally.
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 wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, and advice to both employees and employers about navigating complex employment situations.
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 severance and non compete agreements, wage and hour disputes, employment and discrimination claims, 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 employment discrimination, retaliation, and wage and hour issues, litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts, and advising employers about employment policies and practices.
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 wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, review and negotiation of severance agreements, and litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts on employment related issues.
HowWe Can Help
We're here to help you understand and manage your obligations under PFMLA effectively. 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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