Client Alert: Massachusetts and Connecticut Both Set to Expand Scope of Benefits for Sick Employees
Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law
Once again, Massachusetts is among the vanguard of U.S. states in providing employee leave benefits. Starting November 21, 2024, all Massachusetts employers covered by the state’s Earned Sick Time Law will be required to permit employees to use sick time to address certain reproductive losses. This change comes as part of the broader “Act Promoting Access to Midwifery Care and Out-of-Hospital Birth Options.”
In key part, the law states that an employee may use earned sick time to “address the employee’s own physical and mental health needs, and those of their spouse, if the employee or the employee’s spouse experiences pregnancy loss or a failed assisted reproduction, adoption or surrogacy.”
With this change quickly approaching, employers should update company policies to ensure that their employees are aware of the law’s expanded coverage requirements. Employers will also want to train human resources professionals and management to ensure they are prepared to respond to related requests.
Connecticut Paid Sick Leave Law
As detailed in our prior Client Alert, Connecticut will soon significantly expand the scope of businesses and workers covered by the state’s paid sick leave law. By way of reminder, effective January 1, 2025, the law now will apply to employers with 25 or more employees in Connecticut (rather than the current 50-employee threshold). As of 2026, the law will apply to employers with 11 or more Connecticut employees, and by 2027, virtually all Connecticut employers/employees will be covered by the law.
Notably, employers must continue to display posters regarding paid sick leave in English and Spanish and must also provide written notice to each of their employees by January 1, 2025, and to all new hires thereafter.
Employers with questions about either of these legal updates should contact their attorney in Bowditch’s Employment Law practice area.
Categorized: Employment Law Alerts, Publications
Tagged In: employee leave benefits, paid sick leave, reproductive losses, pregnancy loss
