Massachusetts Lawmakers Attempt to Expand Paid Leave

November 13, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Massachusetts Lawmakers Attempt to Expand Paid Leave

Virtually every business in Massachusetts has a “help wanted” sign in the window, and lawmakers are pushing legislation providing more time-off for workers. Last month, NFIB submitted testimony in opposition to legislation that would expand the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) laws to include things like bereavement time and blood donation and that would change how contractors access the benefit. The legislation also strengthened notification requirements placing more of a burden on employers to explain the benefit to their workforce. You may recall, the original PFML law was included in the so-called 2018 Grand Bargain. This legislative package included a $15 minimum wage and a guaranteed sales tax holiday. In order to make the bill slightly less damaging to businesses, a question reducing the state sales tax to 5% was removed from the ballot that year. Making additional changes to the Grand Bargain would violate those negotiations. It should be noted that earlier this year, legislators changed the PFML law by allowing workers to top-off their pay using other available paid time-off. The existing 80% wage replacement was deliberately included in the law to incentivize workers to return to their jobs, it was never intended to be 100%. This means lawmakers already dishonored the spirit of the Grand Bargain agreement. Additionally, NFIB testified against a whole slate of bills that would mandate employers provide more time off for workers, all while they struggle to fully staff their businesses. One bill provided workers mandatory time off to vote at the beginning or end of a workday. If an employer violated this law, they must issue the worker a full day’s pay as the penalty. Of course, nowhere in the legislation did it require the worker furnish proof that they actually voted. Another piece of legislation NFIB submitted opposition testimony involved a 4-day workweek in Massachusetts. Businesses would be prohibited from scheduling 40-hour work shifts without offering premium pay for any time worked over 32 hours. This proposal is not only unworkable but could prove immensely expensive for every employer in the Commonwealth…including for the Commonwealth itself. If you are interested in voicing your opinion with lawmakers on time-off policies, please use this link to find NFIB’s most recent call to action on the topic: https://www.votervoice.net/NFIB/21/campaigns/108982/respond

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Massachusetts

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