Your Employee Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

What is FMLA leave?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees with job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) enforces the FMLA for most employees.

Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period for:

• The birth, adoption or foster placement of a child with you,
• Your serious mental or physical health condition that makes you unable to work,
• To care for your spouse, child or parent with a serious mental or physical health condition, and
• Certain qualifying reasons related to the foreign deployment of your spouse, child or parent who is a military servicemember.

An eligible employee who is the spouse, child, parent or next of kin of a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness may take up to 26 workweeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the servicemember.

You have the right to use FMLA leave in one block of time. When it is medically necessary or otherwise permitted, you may take FMLA leave intermittently in separate blocks of time, or on a reduced schedule by working less hours each day or week. Read Fact Sheet #28M(c) for more information.

FMLA leave is not paid leave, but you may choose, or be required by your employer, to use any employer-provided paid leave if your employer’s paid leave policy covers the reason for which you need FMLA leave.

Am I eligible to take FMLA leave?

You are an eligible employee if all of the following apply:

• You work for a covered employer,
• You have worked for your employer at least 12 months,
• You have at least 1,250 hours of service for your employer during the 12 months before your leave, and
• Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your work location.

Airline flight crew employees have different “hours of service” requirements.

You work for a covered employer if one of the following applies:

• You work for a private employer that had at least 50 employees during at least 20 workweeks in the current or previous calendar year,
• You work for an elementary or public or private secondary school, or
• You work for a public agency, such as a local, state or federal government agency. Most federal employees are covered by Title II of the FMLA, administered by the Office of Personnel Management.

How do I request FMLA leave?

Generally, to request FMLA leave you must:

• Follow your employer’s normal policies for requesting leave,
• Give notice at least 30 days before your need for FMLA leave, or
• If advance notice is not possible, give notice as soon as possible

You do not have to share a medical diagnosis but must provide enough information to your employer so they can determine whether the leave qualifies for FMLA protection. You must also inform your employer if FMLA leave was previously taken or approved for the same reason when requesting additional leave.

Your employer may request certification from a health care provider to verify medical leave and may request certification of a qualifying exigency.

The FMLA does not affect any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination or supersede any state or local law or collective bargaining agreement that provides greater family or medical leave rights.

State employees may be subject to certain limitations in pursuit of direct lawsuits regarding leave for their own serious health conditions. Most federal and certain congressional employees are also covered by the law but are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or Congress

What does my employer need to do?

If you are eligible for FMLA leave, your employer must:

• Allow you to take job-protected time off work for a qualifying reason,
• Continue your group health plan coverage while you are on leave on the same basis as if you had not taken leave, and
• Allow you to return to the same job, or a virtually identical job with the same pay, benefits and other working conditions, including shift and location, at the end of your leave.

Your employer cannot interfere with your FMLA rights or threaten or punish you for exercising your rights under the law. For example, your employer cannot retaliate against you for requesting FMLA leave or cooperating with a WHD investigation.

After becoming aware that your need for leave is for a reason that may qualify under the FMLA, your employer must confirm whether you are eligible or not eligible for FMLA leave. If your employer determines that you are eligible, your employer must notify you in writing:

• About your FMLA rights and responsibilities, and
• How much of your requested leave, if any, will be FMLA-protected leave

Where can I find more information?

Call 1-866-487-9243 or visit dol.gov/fmla to learn more.

If you believe your rights under the FMLA have been violated, you may file a complaint with WHD or file a private lawsuit against your employer in court.

WH1420 Rev 4/23

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Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
Notice of Benefits Available Under M.G.L. Chapter 175M

Available Leave Covered individuals may be entitled to family and medical leave for the following reasons

• up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave in a benefit year if they have a serious health condition that incapacitates them from work.
• up to 12 weeks of paid family leave in a benefit year related to the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a family member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty in the Armed Forces.
• up to 26 weeks of paid family leave in a benefit year to care for a family member who is a covered service member with a serious health condition.

Covered individuals are eligible for no more than 26 total weeks, in the aggregate, of paid family and medical leave in a single benefit year.

Benefits In 2024 to fund PFML benefits, employers may deduct payroll contributions of up to 0.46% (adjusted annually) from a covered individual’s wages or other earnings. A covered individual’s average weekly earnings will determine his or her benefit amount, for a maximum weekly benefit of up to $ 1,149.90 (adjusted annually).

Who is a Covered Individual Under the Law?
Generally, a worker qualifies as a covered individual eligible for PFML benefits if they are:

• covered by unemployment insurance in Massachusetts and paid wages by a Massachusetts employer; or
• a self-employed individual who resides and works in Massachusetts and chooses to opt-in to the program; and
• has earned at least 30 times the expected benefit and more than $6,300 (adjusted annually) in the last four completed quarters preceding the application for benefits

Job Protection Generally, an employee who has taken paid family or medical leave must be restored to the employee’s previous position or to an equal position, with the same status, pay, employment benefits, length-of service credit, and seniority as of the date of leave. These job protections do not apply to former employees, independent contractors, or self-employed individuals.

Health Insurance Employers must continue to provide for, and contribute to, or otherwise maintain the employees' employment-related health insurance benefits, if any, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued working continuously for the duration of such leave.

Private Plans If an employer offers employees paid family leave, medical leave, or both, with benefits that are at least as generous as those provided under the law, the employer may apply for an exemption from paying the contributions. Employees continue to be protected from discrimination and retaliation under the law even when an employer opts to provide paid leave benefits through a private plan.

No Retaliation or Discrimination

• It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate or retaliate against an employee for exercising any right to which s/he is entitled under the law.
• An employee or former employee who is discriminated or retaliated against for exercising rights under the law may, not more than three years after the violation occurs, institute a civil action in the superior court, and may be entitled to damages of as much as three times his or her lost wages.

If you have questions or concerns about your Paid Family and Medical Leave rights, call: (833) 344-7365 or visit: https://www.mass.gov/DFML

2024 poster revised 10/2023

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Parental Leave in Massachusetts

Parental Leave in Massachusetts

Parental Leave, formerly called MA Maternity Leave in the Workplace, requires employers to provide eight weeks of unpaid leave to employees for the birth or adoption of their child. The following information is taken from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) website.

The MA Parental Leave Act applies to employers with six or more employees.

The Law

Massachusetts law requires employers with six or more employees to provide eight weeks of unpaid leave for the purpose of giving birth or for the placement of a child under the age of 18 (or under the age of 23 if the child is mentally or physically disabled) for adoption.

Both women and men are eligible for parental leave.

Employee Rights

The parental leave law is now gender neutral, the law applies to all new parents regardless of gender.

Parental leave applies after you have completed your initial probationary period (set by the terms of employment) but cannot exceed three months.

You must provide at least two weeks’ notice of the anticipated date of departure and state your intention to return. However, the law permits you to provide notice as soon as practicable if the delay is for reasons beyond your control.

Employer Responsibilities

Employers must keep a posting in a conspicuous place describing the Parental Leave law’s requirements and the employer’s policies as to parental leave.

Employees on parental leave for the adoption of a child shall be entitled to the same benefits offered to an employee on leave for the birth of a child.

If two of your employees are give birth to or adopting the same child, the two employees are entitled to an aggregate of 8 weeks of leave.

If you, the employer, provide parental leave for longer than 8 weeks, you must reinstate the employee at the end of the extended leave unless you clearly inform the employee in writing before the leave, and before any extension of that leave, that taking longer than 8 weeks of leave shall result in the denial of reinstatement or the loss of other rights and benefits.

You do not need to register or apply for parental leave with the state.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not require individuals to register or apply with the state to benefit from parental leave.

In order to take advantage of protected leave, you must provide at least two weeks’ notice of the anticipated date of departure and state your intention to return with the proper administrators at your company or organization. However, the law permits you to provide notice as soon as practicable if the delay is for reasons beyond your control.

Paid Family Medical Leave

The MCAD does not oversee or administer the Paid Family and Medical Leave act. 

For more information about paid leave in Massachusetts, please visit the Dept. of Family Medical Leave website:  https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-family-and-medical-leave

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Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (issued 1/23/2018)

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“the Act”) amends the current statute prohibiting discrimination in employment, G.L. c. 151B, §4, enforced by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). The Act, effective on April 1, 2018, expressly prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, such as lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child. It also describes employers’ obligations to employees that are pregnant or lactating and the protections these employees are entitled to receive. Generally, employers may not treat employees or job applicants less favorably than other employees based on pregnancy or pregnancy related conditions and have an obligation to accommodate pregnant workers.

Under the Act

• Upon request for an accommodation, the employer has an obligation to communicate with the employee in order to determine a reasonable accommodation for the pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition. This is called an “interactive process,” and it must be done in good faith. A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment that allows the employee or job applicant to perform the essential functions of the job while pregnant or experiencing a pregnancy-related condition, without undue hardship to the employer
• An employer must accommodate conditions related to pregnancy, including post-pregnancy conditions such as the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship on the employer. “Undue hardship” means that providing the accommodation would cause the employer significant difficulty or expense.
• An employer cannot require a pregnant employee to accept a particular accommodation, or to begin disability or parental leave if another reasonable accommodation would enable the employee to perform the essential functions of the job without undue hardship to the employer.
• An employer cannot refuse to hire a pregnant job applicant or applicant with a pregnancy-related condition, because of the pregnancy or the pregnancy-related condition, if an applicant is capable of performing the essential functions of the position with a reasonable accommodation.
• An employer cannot deny an employment opportunity or take adverse action against an employee because of the employee’s request for or use of a reasonable accommodation for a pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition.
• An employer cannot require medical documentation about the need for an accommodation if the accommodation requested is for: (i) more frequent restroom, food or water breaks; (ii) seating; (iii) limits on lifting no more than 20 pounds; and (iv) private, non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk. An employer, may, however, request medical documentation for other accommodations.
• Employers must provide written notice to employees of the right to be free from discrimination due to pregnancy or a condition related to pregnancy, including the right to reasonable accommodations for conditions related to pregnancy, in a handbook, pamphlet, or other means of notice no later than April 1, 2018.
• Employers must also provide written notice of employees’ rights under the Act: (1) to new employees at or prior to the start of employment; and (2) to an employee who notifies the employer of a pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition, no more than 10 days after such notification.

The foregoing is a synopsis of the requirements under the Act, and both employees and employers are encouraged to read the full text of the law available on the General Court’s website here: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2017/Chapter54.

If you believe you have been discriminated against on the basis of pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition, you may file a formal complaint with the MCAD. You may also have the right to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if the conduct violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both agencies require the formal complaint to be filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act.

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Your Rights Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER USERRA
THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT
USERRA protects the job rights of individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily leave employment positions to undertake military service or certain types of service in the National Disaster Medical System. USERRA also prohibits employers from discriminating against past and present members of the uniformed services, and applicants to the uniformed services.

REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS
You have the right to be reemployed in your civilian job if you leave that job to perform service in the uniformed service and:

• you ensure that your employer receives advance written or verbal notice of your service;
• you have five years or less of cumulative service in the uniformed services while with that particular employer;
• you return to work or apply for reemployment in a timely manner after conclusion of service; and
• you have not been separated from service with a disqualifying discharge or under other than honorable conditions. If you are eligible to be reemployed, you must be restored to the job and benefits you would have attained if you had not been absent due to military service or, in some cases, a comparable job.

RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION If you:

• are a past or present member of the uniformed service; ✩✩ have applied for membership in the uniformed service; or
• are obligated to serve in the uniformed service; then an employer may not deny you:
• initial employment; ✩✩ reemployment; ✩✩ retention in employment;
• promotion; or
• any benefit of employment because of this status. In addition, an employer may not retaliate against anyone assisting in the enforcement of USERRA rights, including testifying or making a statement in connection with a proceeding under USERRA, even if that person has no service connection.

HEALTH INSURANCE PROTECTION

• If you leave your job to perform military service, you have the right to elect to continue your existing employer-based health plan coverage for you and your dependents for up to 24 months while in the military.
• Even if you don’t elect to continue coverage during your military service, you have the right to be reinstated in your employer’s health plan when you are reemployed, generally without any waiting periods or exclusions (e.g., pre-existing condition exclusions) except for service-connected illnesses or injuries.

ENFORCEMENT

•  
• The U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) is authorized to investigate and resolve complaints of USERRA violations.
• For assistance in filing a complaint, or for any other information on USERRA, contact VETS at 1-866-4-USA-DOL or visit its website at http://www.dol.gov/vets. An interactive online USERRA Advisor can be viewed at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/userra.htm.
• If you file a complaint with VETS and VETS is unable to resolve it, you may request that your case be referred to the Department of Justice or the Office of Special Counsel, as applicable, for representation.
• You may also bypass the VETS process and bring a civil action against an employer for violations of USERRA.

The rights listed here may vary depending on the circumstances. The text of this notice was prepared by VETS, and may be viewed on the internet at this address: http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/poster.htm. Federal law requires employers to notify employees of their rights under USERRA, and employers may meet this requirement by displaying the text of this notice where they customarily place notices for employees.

U.S. Department of Labor 1-866-487-2365
ESGR 1-800-336-4590 Publication Date

April 2017

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Massachusetts Domestic Violence Leave Law

UMass President's Office Guidance Title: Domestic Violence Leave Guidance

Guidance Number: HR-INTERNAL-04

Brief Description: Establishes the guidance for implementation of the MA Domestic Violence Leave Law Responsible Office: Office of Human Resources

INTRODUCTION

Under G.L. c. 149, s. 52E, “An Act Relative to Domestic Violence” (the “Act”), the University is required to provide up to fifteen (15) days of job-protected leave (paid or unpaid) each calendar year, to qualifying employees who are victims of domestic violence.

The Act was signed into law on August 8, 2014, and became effective immediately. The Act creates new employment protections for both employees and their family members who are victims of abusive behavior, including domestic violence.

DEFINITIONS

Employee. An individual who performs services for and under the control and direction of an employer for wages or other remuneration.

Family Member. Defined in the statute as a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild; a married spouse; persons in a substantive dating or engagement relationship and who reside together; persons having a child in common regardless of whether they have ever married or resided together; or persons in a guardianship relationship.

Domestic Violence. The Act defines “domestic violence” as abuse against an employer or the employee’s family member by:

• a current or former spouse of the employee or the employee’s family member;
• a person with whom the employee or the employee’s family member shares a child in common;
• a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the employee or the employee’s family member;
• a person who is related by blood or marriage to the employee; or
• a person with whom the employee or employee’s family member has or had a dating or engagement relationship.

Abuse. The Act’s definitions of “abuse” is broadly defined as:

• attempting to cause or causing physical harm;
• placing another in fear of imminent serious physical harm;
• causing another to engage involuntarily in sexual relations by force; threat or duress or engaging or threatening to engage in sexual activity with a dependent child;
• engaging in mental abuse, which includes threats, intimidation or acts designed to induce terror;
• depriving another of medical care, housing, food, or other necessities of life; or
• restraining the liberty of another.

Abusive behavior. Any behavior constituting domestic violence, including stalking, sexual assault, or kidnapping under Massachusetts law.

APPLICABILITY

An employee who is a victim, or an employee who has a family member who is a victim of abusive behavior, is eligible for leave. Covered family members include the employee’s spouse, parent, step-parent, child, step-child, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild. The Act specifically notes that perpetrators of domestic violence are not entitled to leave.

COMPENSATION

All employees who are entitled to paid vacation time, sick days or personal days, will be paid for time taken under domestic violence leave, and must exhaust this paid time prior to taking unpaid leave. This guidance does not supersede or replace any benefits or privileges that are provided to employees under their respective collective bargaining agreements.

Time off under the Act may run concurrently with time off provided by the Family Medical Leave Act, the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act, the Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave Law, the Small Necessities Leave Act, and other leave laws that may allow employees to make concurrent use of leave. The University requires employees to use their accrued paid time off to receive pay when taking other statutorily-authorized leave that would otherwise be unpaid, and leave granted pursuant to this guidance would run concurrently with any domestic violence leave currently allowed under an employee’s collective bargaining agreement.

LEAVE AVAILABILITY

If an employee has suffered abusive behavior, or has a family member who is the victim of abusive behavior, the employee may take leave from work for purposes related to the abuse, such as:

• obtaining medical attention or counseling;
• obtaining legal help;
• meeting with law enforcement or a district attorney;
• securing housing;
• securing an order of protection form a court;
• attending child custody proceedings;
• attending other court proceedings related to the abusive behavior, and
• obtaining other victim services.

UNIVERSITY NOTIFICATION

The University must notify each employee of his or her rights and responsibilities under the Act. This guidance, along with the Domestic Violence and Abusive Situation Leave [website], shall satisfy notification requirements for the University.

EMPLOYEE NOTIFICATION

Employees are required to give notice of leave taken pursuant to the Act, except where there is a threat of imminent danger to the health and safety of the employee or the employee’s covered family member. Employees must provide appropriate notice to their immediate supervisor and/or the Assistant Director of Human Resources in advance of their need for leave. In cases of imminent danger to the employee’s or their family member’s health or safety, the employee must provide notice within three (3) workdays that the leave was taken or being taken under the Act. This notice may be given to the applicable campus Human Resources Office by the employee, or the employee’s family member, counselor, social worker, health care worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, legal advocate, or other professional who has assisted the employee in addressing the effects of the abusive behavior.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

Employees are required to provide documentation to support a leave request under the Act, unless there is a threat of imminent danger. Valid documentation that will support leave under the Act includes:

• a restraining order or other documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
• a police record documenting the abuse;
• documentation that the perpetrator of the abuse has been convicted of one or more of the offenses enumerated in

M.G.L. c. 265 where the victim was a family or household member;

• medical documentation of the abuse;
• a statement provided by a counselor, social worker, health worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, legal advocate or other professional who has assisted the employee in addressing the effects of the abuse on the employee or the employee’s family; or
• a signed written statement from the employee attesting to the abuse.

If an unscheduled absence occurs, the employee must produce valid documentation of the reason for the absence within 30 days of the unauthorized absence. The University may not require the employee to produce evidence of an arrest or conviction, nor may the University require as a condition of granting, using, or verifying time off under the Act, documentation explaining the details of the domestic violence.

CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS

All documentation must be provided to the applicable campus Human Resources Office and will be kept confidential. Documentation shall not be disclosed unless requested by or consented to in writing by the employee; ordered to be released by a court; or otherwise required by applicable state or federal law. Additionally, the campus Human Resources Office will only retain this documentation for as long as it is required to determine the employee’s eligibility for domestic violence leave.

EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS

The University cannot discharge, or in any other manner, discriminate against an employee for exercising the employee’s rights under the Act. Upon the employee’s return from such leave, the employee is entitled to restoration to the employee’s original job or to an equivalent position.

If an unscheduled absence occurs, the University shall not take any negative action against the employee if, within 30 days from the unauthorized absence or within 30 days from the last unauthorized absence in the instance of consecutive days of unauthorized absences, the employee provides any of the documentation required under the Act.

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Massachusetts Earned Sick Time

EARNED SICK TIME
Notice of Employee Rights

Beginning July 1, 2015, Massachusetts employees have the right to earn and take sick leave from work.

WHO QUALIFIES?
All employees in Massachusetts can earn sick time.
This includes full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees.

HOW IS IT EARNED?

• Employees earn 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours they work.
• Employees can earn and use up to 40 hours per year if they work enough hours.
• Employees with unused earned sick time at the end of the year can rollover up to 40 hours.
• Employees begin earning sick time on their first day of work and may begin using earned sick time 90 days after starting work.

WILL IT BE PAID?

• If an employer has 11 or more employees, sick time must be paid.
• For employers with 1 O or fewer employees, sick time may be unpaid.
• Paid sick time must be paid on the same schedule and at the same rate as regular wages.

WHEN CAN IT BE USED?

• An employee can use sick time when the employee or the employee's child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse is sick, has a medical appointment, or has to address the effects of domestic violence.
• The smallest amount of sick time an employee can take is one hour.
• Sick time cannot be used as an excuse to be late for work without advance notice of a proper use.
• Use of sick time for other purposes is not allowed and may result in an employee being disciplined.

CAN AN EMPLOYER HAVE A DIFFERENT POLICY?
Yes. Employers may have their own sick leave or paid time off policy, so long as employees can use at least the
same amount of time, for the same reasons, and with the same job-protections as under the Earned Sick Time Law.

RETALIATION

• Employees using earned sick time cannnot be fired or otherwise retaliated against for exercising or attempting to exercise rights under the law.
• Examples of retaliation include: denying use or delaying payment of earned sick time, firing an employee, taking away work hours, or giving the employee undesirable assignments.

NOTICE & VERIFICATION

• Employees must notify their employer before they use sick time, except in a emergency.
• Employers may require employees to use a reasonable notification system the employer creates.
• If an employee is out of work for 3 consecutive days OR uses sick time within 2 weeks of leaving his or her job, an employer may require documentation from a medical provider.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?
Call the Fair Labor Division at 617-727-3465
Visit www.mass.gov/ago/earnedsicktime

The Attorney General enforces the Earned Sick Time Law and regulations.
It is unlawful to violate any provision of the Earned Sick Time Law.
Violations of any provision of the Earned Sick time law, M.G.L. c. 149, § 148C, or these regulations, 940 CMR 33.00
shall be subject to paragraphs (1), (2), (4), (6) and (7) of subsection (b) of M.G.L. c. 149, §27C(b) and to § 150.
This notice is intended to inform.
Full text of the law and regulations are available at www.mass.gov/ago/earnedsicktime.

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