Establishes the guidance for implementation of the MA Earned Sick Leave Law Effective: 7/1/2015 Last Reviewed/Updated: 11/21/2024, Introduction, Chapter 149 of the General Laws, §148C and 940 CMR 33.02 require that the employer shall provide a minimum of one hour of earned sick time for every thirty hours worked by an employee, up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick time in a calendar year. The law does not override employers’ obligations under any contract or benefit plan with more generous provisions than those in the law. Employers that…, Therefore, University employees that are already receiving accrued sick time that is in compliance with the conditions of the state law, and is more generous than the state law requires, will not be impacted by this new law., This law may run concurrently with time off provided by the Family Medical Leave Act, the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act, the Massachusetts Domestic Violence Leave Act, the Small Necessities Leave Act, and other leave laws that may allow employees to make concurrent use of leave. UMass requires employees to use, earned paid sick time, to receive pay when taking other statutorily authorized…, Definitions, Benefit Year., “Benefit year” is used interchangeably with “calendar year” for purposes of 940 CMR 33.00. , Break in Service, . A period extending from the date an employee last worked for an employer until the employee’s return to employment with that employer, whether the separation was voluntary or involuntary., Calendar Year., The regulations allow for any consecutive 12-month period as determined by an employer. The University will use a year that runs from January 1 to December 31. “Calendar year” is used interchangeably with “benefit year” for purposes of 940 CMR 33.00., Child., A biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child for whom an employee has assumed the responsibilities of parenthood., Child For Whom an Employee Has Assumed the Responsibilities of Parenthood., A child of an employee standing in loco parentis, as defined by 29 U.S.C. § 2611(12) and 29 C.F.R. §§ 825.122(c) and 825.800., Domestic Violence., Abuse committed against an employee or the employee’s 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 cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the employee; (4) a person who is related to the employee by blood or marriage; or (5) a person with whom the employee has or had a dating or engagement…, Date of Hire., An employee’s first date of actual work for an employer. “Date of hire” is used interchangeably with “first date of actual work” for purposes of 940 CMR 33.00., Earned Paid Sick Time., Time off from work accrued by an employee and provided by an employer that can be used for the purposes described in 940 CMR 33.02: Definitions for Earned Sick Time compensated at the same hourly rate that the employee earns at the time the employee uses the paid sick time; provided, however, that the same hourly rate shall not be less than the effective minimum wage under M.G.L. c. 151, § 1…, Earned Sick Time., Time off from work accrued by an employee during hours worked and provided by an employer to allow an employee to: care for the employee’s child or spouse if the spouse experiences pregnancy loss, or a failed assisted reproduction, adoption or surrogacy or care of a parent, or parent of a spouse, who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home…, Regular Hourly Rate., The amount that an employee is regularly paid for each hour of work., Same Hourly Rate., For employees compensated on an hourly basis, the same hourly rate means the employee’s regular hourly rate. For employees who receive different pay rates for hourly work from the same employer, the same hourly rate means the wages the employee would have been paid for the hours absent during use of earned sick time if the employee had worked. For employees paid a salary, the same hourly rate…, Applicability., Any person who performs services for an employer for wage, remuneration, or other compensation, as further defined by M.G.L. c. 149, § 148B, including full time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees, except: Federal work study students. Students providing support services to residents of a residence hall, dormitory, apartment building, or other similar residence operated by the…, Specific Provisions Of The Policy, (A) Accrual of Earned Sick Time:, Accruals will be done at a rate of .0333 hours (2 minutes per hour worked) which equates to 1 hour of sick time earned for every 30 hours worked and will max out at 40 hours/year. Employees accrue earned sick time only on hours worked, not on hours paid when not working. For example, employees do not accrue earned sick time during vacation, paid time off, or while using earned sick time.…, (B) Use of Earned Sick Time:, Employees have the right to use 40 hours of earned sick time per benefit year if the employee works sufficient hours to earn the time. An employee may not use earned sick time if the employee is not scheduled to be at work during the period of use. The smallest amount of sick time an employee can use is 15 minutes. Earned sick time may not be invoked as an excuse to be late for work without an…, (C) Payment of Earned Sick Time:, Earned paid sick time is paid at the same hourly rate listed in 940 CMR 33.02. See “Regular Hourly Rate” and “Same Hourly Rate.” When used, earned paid sick time must be paid on the same schedule as regular wages are paid. Employers may not delay compensating employees for earned paid sick time., (D)Accruing and Using Time:, Employees may begin accruing sick time on the first date of actual work. Employees may use earned sick time as it accrues. , (E) Break in Service:, Following a break in service of up to four months, an employee shall maintain the right to use any unused earned sick time accrued before the break in service. Following a break in service of between four and 12 months, an employee shall maintain the right to use earned sick time accrued before the break in service if the employee’s unused bank of earned sick time equals or exceeds 10 hours. , Procedure, (A)Notice of Use of Earned Sick Time, Employees must notify their manager before they use earned sick time, except in an emergency. Earned sick time cannot be used as an excuse to be late for work without an authorized purpose under M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C. For foreseeable or pre-scheduled use of earned sick time, your department may have a written policy requiring up to seven days’ notice, except where the employee learns of the need…, (B) Documentation of use of earned sick time, A manager may require written documentation for an employee’s use of earned sick time that: exceeds 24 consecutively scheduled work hours. exceeds 3 consecutive days on which the employee was scheduled to work. occurs within 2 weeks prior to an employee’s final scheduled day of work before termination of employment, except in the case of temporary employees (i.e. “temp workers”). occurs after 4…, (C) Prohibition on Retaliation and Non-interference, UMass will not interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under or in connection with this section, including, but not limited to, using the taking of earned sick time under M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C, as a negative factor in any employment action such as evaluation, promotion, disciplinary action, or termination, or otherwise subjecting an…
Type: Book page
Effective: 9/1/2015 Last Reviewed/Updated: New Policy, Reason for Policy, The Fee Waiver Policy will replace the current practice of freezing UMass curriculum/operating fees for spouses and dependents at the 2008-2009 levels. This plan, which is effective Fall 2015 semester, does not change the Board of Trustees System wide Tuition Waiver Policy for Higher Education currently in effect, nor does it reduce any benefits employees are entitled to under any current…, Definitions, “Dependents” or “Dependent child/children”, shall mean any natural, adopted or step child who is claimed as a dependent on the eligible employee’s Federal Tax Return for the tax year immediately preceding enrollment. In addition, dependents must be under the age of 26 to be considered and remain eligible for this benefit and meet the IRS standards of dependency., “Spouse”, shall mean an individual legally married to a University employee., “Applicable fees”, for which this waiver applies are the University’s undergraduate Curriculum/Operating fees., “Part-time”, shall be defined as a regular schedule of at least half-time the normal number of hours for that position (but less than full –time). Individuals must be eligible for benefits under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or personnel policies., “Tuition retention”, shall be defined as a provision in the FY16 state budget that was signed into law by Governor Baker on July 17, 2015. Tuition retention becomes effective beginning in the 2016-2017 school year. Under this new law, the University will essentially keep the tuition it collects from students who are residents of the state, rather than remit it to the state treasury., Specific Provisions of the Policy, This plan covers eligible full and part-time undergraduate students only who enroll at any of the UMass campuses, as described below. Spouses and Dependents of full-time benefited employees are eligible for a waiver in the semester following the completion of two years of full-time equivalent benefited service at any of the UMass Campuses or UMass System Office. Spouses and Dependents of Part-…, Other Benefits Not Impacted by This Policy, A. Curriculum/Operating Fees for UMass Employees, Curriculum/operating fee benefits that the campuses currently have in place today for UMass employees themselves, who meet eligibility and admission requirements as defined by the campuses and are enrolled in courses offered by the University, will remain in place., B. Tuition Waivers for Courses at the University of Massachusetts, Tuition waivers for regularly scheduled courses excluding Continuing and Professional Education courses, as defined by the campus, are as follows: Full-time benefited employees, their spouses, domestic partners (1) and unmarried dependent children (through age 25) meeting eligibility and admission requirements will receive a 100% tuition waiver per semester for regularly scheduled undergraduate…, C. Tuition Waivers for Courses at Other Massachusetts State Institutions of Higher Education, UMass employees are eligible for tuition waiver for courses offered at any Massachusetts Public Higher Education College. Full-time employees, their spouses and unmarried dependent children (through age 25) meeting eligibility and admission requirements will, after six (6) months of continuous service, receive 100% tuition waiver for regularly scheduled courses and 50% tuition waiver for…
Type: Book page
