Boston Business Journal quotes Brian Mullin in “Mass. paid-leave bills are coming soon. How much will businesses owe?”

December 7, 2018

The Boston Business Journal has quoted Brian Mullin in “Mass. paid-leave bills are coming soon. How much will businesses owe?” Beginning July 1, 2019, Massachusetts businesses will be required to pay the state to fund a new paid family and medical leave program for their employees. Below is an excerpt from the article.

But while that date is now less than seven months away, there’s still a lot that’s up in the air, including how much employers will need to pay and, in many cases, whether they owe anything at all. Those questions are likely to remain unanswered for months, even as companies across the commonwealth are finalizing their 2019 budgets.

“It’s definitely causing some angst among businesses out there,” Bowditch & Dewey LLP partner Brian Mullin said….

Some businesses may change policies in an attempt to get an exemption, only to find they fall short of the standard after the regulations are finalized. While the law requires 12 and 20 weeks of paid family and medical leave, respectively, the state may expect employer policies to meet technical requirements that won’t be known for sure until the regulations are finalized, according to attorneys.

“You can do a lot of work trying to set something up and then find out it’s not going to be accepted,” Mullin said….

Even with so much uncertainty, lawyers and business groups advise that there are things that employers can do now.

Executives and business owners can look at their current benefits and decide whether they want to seek an exemption or simply enter the state program, Mullin said.