HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4860        FILED ON: 2/18/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4557

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Jamie Zahlaway Belsito and Joan B. Lovely

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to paid pregnancy loss leave.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4860        FILED ON: 2/18/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4557

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to paid pregnancy loss leave.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 175M of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 12. (a) As used in this section the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

“Assisted reproductive technology procedure”, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 263a-7.

“Covered employer”, any individual, corporation, partnership or other private or public entity, including any agent thereof, who engages the services of an employee for wages, remuneration or other compensation for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year; provided, that covered employer shall include any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of a covered employer to any of the employees of such covered employer and any successor in interest of a covered employer.

“Domestic partner”,  (1) the person recognized as the domestic partner of an unmarried employee under any domestic partnership or civil union law of a state or political subdivision of a state; or (2) an unmarried, adult person who is in a committed, personal relationship with the employee, who is not in such a relationship with any other person and who is designated to the employee’s employer by such employee as that employee’s domestic partner.

“Employee”, any person whose primary place of employment is in the commonwealth and who performs services for an employer for wages, remuneration or other compensation, including employees employed by the commonwealth, its departments, sub-divisions, quasi-public agencies or a municipality, district, political subdivision or its instrumentalities.

“Employer”,  (i) a covered employer; (ii) the commonwealth, its departments, sub-divisions or quasi-public agencies; or (iii) a municipality, district, political subdivision or its instrumentalities; provided, however, that the United States government shall not be considered an “employer”.

“Employment benefits”, all benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including, but not limited to, group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual or vacation leave, educational benefits and pensions.

“Paid pregnancy loss leave”, paid time-off that is compensated by an employer at the employee’s regular rate of pay, and with the same employment benefits to which the employee is entitled from such employer as a term of the employee’s employment, for the purposes described in subsection (c); provided, however, that in no case shall the employee’s hourly compensation be less than that provided under section 1 of chapter 151.

“Spouse”, a person who is married to the employee.

(b)(1) An employer shall grant to each employee employed by the employer 24 hours of paid pregnancy loss leave on the employee's first workday of each calendar year. The employee shall use the paid pregnancy loss leave as needed during that calendar year for the purposes described in subsection (c). The employee shall be compensated by the employer while maintaining the same employment benefits to which the employee is entitled as a term of employment by an employer to an employee.

(2) Paid pregnancy loss leave granted pursuant to this section shall not carry over from 1 year to the next.

(3) Any employer with a paid pregnancy loss leave policy who makes available an amount of paid pregnancy loss leave that is sufficient to meet the requirements of this section and that is made available for all stated reasons and under all stated conditions that are the same as the purposes and conditions outlined in subsection (c) shall not be required to grant an employee additional paid pregnancy loss leave under this section.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring financial or other reimbursement to an employee from an employer upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement or other separation from employment for granted paid pregnancy loss leave that has not been used.

(5) An employer may not require, as a condition of providing paid pregnancy loss leave pursuant to this section, that the employee involved search for or find a replacement employee to cover the hours during which the employee is using paid pregnancy loss leave.

(c) Paid pregnancy loss leave granted pursuant to this section may be used by an employee for:

(1) An absence resulting from any of the following:

(i) a pregnancy loss;

(ii) an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure;

(iii) a failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party;

(iv) a failed surrogacy arrangement; or

(v) a diagnosis or event that impacts pregnancy or fertility.

(2) An absence to care for a spouse or domestic partner who experiences a circumstance described in paragraph (1).

(d) Paid pregnancy loss leave shall be provided upon the oral or written request of an employee. The request shall include the expected duration of the period of the time and be provided as soon as practicable after the employee is aware of the need for the period.

(e)(1) The department shall reimburse a covered employer that who engages the services of 1 to 5 employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year for 100 per cent of the wages paid by the covered employer to an employee for the employee’s paid pregnancy loss leave.

(2) The department shall reimburse a covered employer that who engages the services of 6 to 20 employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year for 75 per cent of the wages paid by the covered employer to an employee for the employee’s paid pregnancy loss leave.

(3) The department shall reimburse a covered employer that who engages the services of 21 to 50 employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year for 50 per cent of the wages paid by the covered employer to an employee for the employee’s paid pregnancy loss leave.

(4) An employer eligible for reimbursement under this subsection shall apply for reimbursement in a form to be prescribed by the department. No employer shall require an employee to submit information to the department related to the employee’s paid pregnancy loss leave.

(f)(1) The executive office of labor and workforce development, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance, shall prepare and provide to employers notice of this section in English and in other languages required under clause (iii) of subsection (d) of section 62A of chapter 151A. Employers shall post this notice in a conspicuous location accessible to employees in every establishment where employees with rights under this section work and shall provide a copy to their employees; provided, however, that in cases where the employer does not maintain a physical workplace, or an employee teleworks or performs work through a web-based platform, notification shall be sent via electronic communication or a conspicuous posting in the web-based platform.

(2) Any employer who willfully violates the posting requirements of this subsection shall be subject to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed $100 for each separate offense.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to state or imply that the scope of the activities prohibited by section 105 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, codified as 29 U.S.C. 2615, or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq., is less than the scope of the activities prohibited by this section or is otherwise altered by the activities prohibited by this section.

(h) (1) It shall be unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain or deny an employee’s ability to take paid pregnancy loss leave, including, but not limited to, using an employee’s taking of paid pregnancy loss leave as a negative factor in any employment action, such as an evaluation, promotion, disciplinary action or termination, or otherwise subjecting an employee to discipline or taking any other adverse action against an employee for the use of paid pregnancy loss leave.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any employer to take any adverse action against an employee because the employee opposes practices believed to be in violation of this section, or because the employee supports the exercise of rights of another employee under this section, including, but not limited to: (i) filing an action, or instituting or causing to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this section; (ii) providing or intending to provide any information in connection with any inquiry or proceeding related to this section; or (iii) testifying or intending to testify in any inquiry or proceeding related to this section.

(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to: (i) discourage employers, including the commonwealth, its departments, sub-divisions or quasi-public agencies or a municipality, district, political subdivision or its instrumentalities from adopting or retaining job-protected paid time off policies that are more generous than policies mandated in this section; (ii) diminish or impair the obligation of an employer to comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement or any employment benefit program or plan in effect on the effective date of this section that provides to employees greater job-protected paid time off rights than the rights established under this section; or (iii) pre-empt the power of a municipality, district, political subdivision or its instrumentalities from adopting or retaining job-protected paid time off policies consistent with or more generous than policies that comply with the requirements of this section.

(j) The executive office of labor and workforce development, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance and the executive office of health and human services, shall develop and implement a multilingual outreach program to inform employers, employees and health care providers about the availability of paid pregnancy loss leave.

(k) The secretary for labor and workforce development, or any department or agency thereof designated by the secretary, may promulgate regulations or other guidance necessary for the implementation of this section.

SECTION 2. The executive office of labor and workforce development, in consultation with the executive office for administration and finance, shall prepare and provide to employers the notice described in paragraph (1) of subsection (f) of section 12 of chapter 175M of the General Laws not later than 7 days after the effective date of this act.