Employers are likely familiar with the basic workings of the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Statute, which entitles most workers in the Commonwealth to earn and use up to 40 hours of job-protected sick time (EST) per year to take care of themselves and certain family members due to illness or injury.
Under a 2024 law promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options, the reasons for which eligible employees may use available earned sick time under the Commonwealth’s Earned Sick Time Law have expanded to include bereavement due to reproductive loss.
Continued Permissible Uses For EST
Since 2015, employees in Massachusetts have been able to use their earned sick time for the following permissible reasons:
- caring for the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse, who is suffering from a physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care
- caring for the employee’s own physical or mental illness, injury, or medical condition that requires home care, professional medical diagnosis or care, or preventative medical care
- attending a routine medical appointment or a routine medical appointment for the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse
- addressing the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence.
- travel to and from an appointment, a pharmacy, or other location related to the purpose for which the time was taken
Expanded EST Benefit Effective November 21, 2024
As of November 21, 2024, these permissible uses now also include addressing the employee’s own physical and mental health needs, and those of their spouse, for loss related to reproductive loss, including pregnancy loss or a failed assisted reproduction (such as in vitro fertilization), or a failed adoption or surrogacy, an explicit acknowledgement of the heavy toll such a loss can take.
What To Do Next
As with all changes to employment laws in Massachusetts, we encourage you to take the following steps to ensure compliance:
- update all internal rules and policies to include this new expanded definition
- ensure all HR personnel and managers are aware of this update
- communicate this new benefit to all employees and remind them of any additional resources that might be available to them through existing programs
You may also wish to take this opportunity to review all of your organization’s handbooks, policies, and procedures in preparation for a smooth and compliant start to 2025. Feel free to contact us with any questions about the new law, or you if you’d like assistance with a more comprehensive review.
