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. | 31 • To attend medical appointments, including routine medical appointments, of the employee or the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse • To address the psychological, legal, or physical effects of domestic violence 149 • To travel to and from an appointment, pharmacy, or other location related to the purpose for which the statutory sick time was taken Employees must be permitted to earn sick time at a rate of no less than one hour of sick time for every thirty hours worked, up to forty hours per year. 150 Employees begin accruing sick time upon hire based on hours actually worked. Employees do not earn sick time during vacation or other paid time off. 151 Employers may also provide sick time in a lump sum grant each month or year, provided that the amount of the lump sum grant is no less than one hour of sick time for every thirty hours worked. 152 The governing regulations provide permissible schedules for providing such lump sum grants. 153 Employers who adhere to such schedules will be in compliance with the ESTL even if an employee’s weekly hours fluctuate. At the end of the benefit year, employees may carry over up to forty hours of unused sick time to the next benefit year. 154 Despite this carryover provision, employers need not permit employees to use more than forty hours of sick time per year. Indeed, if an employee’s reserve or “bank” of 149 For purposes of the ESTL, “domest ic violence” is defined as “abuse commit ted against an employee or the employee’s dependent child by: (1) a current or former spouse of the employee; (2) a person with whom the employee shares a child in common; (3) a person who is cohabitat ingwith or has cohabitatedwith the employee; (4) a person who is related by blood or marriage; or (5) a person with whom the employee has or had a dat ing or engagement relat ionship.” M.G.L. ch. 151A, § 1 (g1/2). 150 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148C(d)(1). Employees who are exempt from the FLSA’s overt ime requirement s are assumed to work forty hours per week for purposes of the ESTL unless their normal workweek is less than forty hours per week, “ in which case earned sick t ime shall accrue based on that normal work week.” M.G.L. ch. 149, § 148C(d)(3). 151 940 C.M.R. § 33.03(5). 152 Se e ht tp://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/workplace/earned-sick-t ime/est -faqs.pdf ( last visited July 16, 2021). 153 For example, under the schedules, employees working an average of thirty-seven and a half hours to forty hours per month may be provided eight hours of sick t ime per month for five months. Employees who work an average of thirty hours per week may be provided five hours of sick t ime per month for eight months, and so on. 940 C.M.R. § 33.07(8). Employers who provide sick t ime pursuant to one of the specified lump sum schedules need not t rack accrual of sick t ime. Id. 154 940 C.M.R. § 33.03(10). Note, however, that if an employer provides sick t ime in a lump sum grant at the beginning of the benefit year, the employer need not allow employees to roll over any unused but accrued sick t ime. See ht tp://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/workplace/earned-sick-t ime/est -faqs.pdf a t 7 (last visited July 16, 2021). By cont rast , employers who provide lump sum grant s on a monthly basis must permit employees to roll over up to 40 hours of unused but accrued sick t ime. Id. Finally, an employer that provide unlimited sick t ime need not allow employees to carry over sick t ime from year to year. 940 C.M.R. § 33.07(6) In addit ion, employers may pay out to employees unused but accrued sick t ime at the end of the benefit year. 940 C.M.R. § 33.03(27). Employers that pay out sixteen or more hours to an employee must grant that employee a lump sum of sixteen hours of unpaid sick t ime to use unt il the employee accrues new paid sick t ime. Id. If employers pay out less than sixteen hours, they must provide unpaid sick t ime in an amount equal to the number of hours paid out . Id.