COVID-19 and Health-Related Absences: Know Your Rights Under Massachusetts Law

COVID-19 has presented numerous employment-related dilemmas, especially for employees facing health issues as a result of the pandemic. Fortunately, for some Massachusetts employees, current laws may provide some help and new ones are on their way. These laws, which are explained more fully below, generally provide leave for your own health condition, the health condition of certain family members, and for having to miss work because your child’s school is closed or his/her child care provider is unavailable. That leave is not always paid, but it sometimes is.

Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law and COVID-19/Coronavirus

Massachusetts employees may be entitled to sick leave under the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law during COVID-19/coronavirus. That law provides nearly all employees with up to 40 hours of sick leave for certain medical reasons. That leave is paid if your employer has 11 or more employees, unpaid if they don’t. Importantly, that leave allows employees to take leave to care for their own physical illness or that of their child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and COVID-19/Coronavirus

Massachusetts employees may be entitled to protections during COVID-19/coronavirus of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA provides important protections to many employees for health-related reasons, including those with compromised immune systems. If you have worked for your employer for more than a year and logged more than 1250 hours during that year and your employer has 50 or more employees, you are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to your serious health condition or because of your family member’s serious health condition. For now, that leave is unpaid, but it does protect your job for up to 12 weeks.

Americans with Disabilities Act and COVID-19/Coronavirus

Massachusetts employees with pre-existing conditions may be entitled to special protections during COVID-19/coronavirus. Employees with certain physical or mental impairments are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or Massachusetts Law. If your condition is covered, then your employer must provide you with reasonable accommodations, which may include changes to your job duties and place of work, including leaves of absence and/or telecommuting.

New Federal Laws Protecting Massachusetts Employees During COVID-19/Coronavirus

There are two new federal laws that are scheduled to take effect on April 2, 2020 through December 31, 2020 that provide you with important rights.

The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act provides employees with up to 12 weeks of leave if they cannot go to work because your son’s or daughter’s school is closed due to coronavirus/COVID-19, but only if:

  • You have worked for your employer for at least 30 days;

  • You can’t work, even remotely;

  • You can’t work because you have to care for your son or daughter because their school is closed or because their child care provider is unavailable due to coronavirus.

The first 10 days of this leave are unpaid, but you can use accrued leave time during this period. The remaining 10 weeks are paid at a rate equal to 2/3’s of the employees’ wages, with those payments capped at $200/day and $10,000 in total.

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act entitles employees to up to 80 hours of paid sick leave if you can’t go to work because you can’t go to work for one of the following reasons and you cannot work remotely:

  • You need leave for one or more of the following reasons: (i) required to quarantine by governmental officials, (ii) advised to quarantine by health care provider, (iii) experiencing symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis, (iv) caring for an individual subject to quarantine order, (v) caring for son or daughter because school or place of care is closed, (vi) experiencing a situation substantially similar to those identified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Leaves for reasons (i)-(iii) require pay at full regular rate with a cap of $511/day and $5110 in the aggregate. Leaves for reasons (iv) – (vi) require pay at 2/3’s the regular rate of pay with a cap of $200/day and $2,000 in the aggregate. This new act only applies to companies with fewer than 500 employees.

There are many moving pieces to each of one of these. If you have questions, feel free to contact us to learn more.

Benjamin SteffansMedical and Sick Leave, Medical Leave, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Family Leave, Reasonable Accommodations, Sick Leave, COVID-19