Mass-Peculiarities: An Employers Guide to Wage & Hour Law in the Bay State 2022 Edition

© 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. | 27 C. Leave for Veterans Participating in Memorial Day or Veterans Day Activities All private Massachusetts employers are required to grant a leave of absence to employees who are veterans and wish to participate in a Memorial Day or Veterans Day exercise, parade, or service. 121 The leave of absence must provide the employee sufficient time to participate in such services in his or her community of residence. 122 Whether the absence is paid or unpaid is at the discretion of the employer. 123 Effective November 7, 2018, an employer is not required to grant leave to an employee whose services are “essential” to public health or safety and determined to be essential to the safety and security of the employer or its property. 124 In 2014, the legislature repealed the Massachusetts law requiring employers to provide leave to employees who are members of organized units of the ready reserve of the armed forces of the United States. However, employers still must comply with the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which imposes military leave requirements and prohibits employers from discriminating against persons because of their service in the National Guard, the Armed Forces Reserve, or other uniformed services. 125 D. Small Necessities Leave Act The Massachusetts Small Necessities Leave Act (SNLA) applies to employers that are subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 126 and allows FMLA-eligible employees 127 to take twenty-four additional hours of leave during a twelve-month period. Leave under the SNLA may be taken for any of the following purposes: 121 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 52A 1/2. For purposes of this law, the term “veterans” refers to veterans as defined by M.G.L. ch. 4, § 7 as well as members of a department of war veterans listed in M.G.L. ch. 8, § 17. 122 Id. 123 Id. 124 St . 2018 ch. 218, § 37. 125 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301-4335. Both veterans and act ive members of the military are protected by the Massachuset t s Fair Employment Practices Act . M.G.L. ch. 151, § 4. 126 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654. Under the FMLA, qualified employers must provide leave for illness and other absences. Specifically, the FMLA mandates that employers with fifty or more employees within a seventy-five mile radius provide eligible employees with up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for the birth and care of a newborn child; the adopt ion of a child; the care of a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condit ion; the employee’s own serious health condit ion; a qualifying exigency arising from certain family members’ call to military act ive duty; or up to twenty-six weeks of unpaid leave to care for certain family members injured in military service. Because of the complexity of the FMLA and this publicat ion’s focus on Massachuset t s law, the FMLA will not be addressed in depth. Employers should also be aware that leave in excess of that provided by the FMLA and Massachuset t s law may be a reasonable accommodat ion under the Americans with Disabilit ies Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. , and Massachuset t s General Laws Chapter 151B. 127 An “eligible employee” is defined as “an employee who has been employed (i) for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested . . . ; and (ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12- month period.” 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(A).