State-Administered Paid Family And Medical Leave Is On Its Way

All Massachusetts employers, regardless of the employer’s size, must begin putting into place mechanisms to implement the newly-passed Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law, M.G.L. c. 175M (PFML).

The law provides paid leave benefits for W-2 employees of Massachusetts employers. It also provides benefits for 1099 contractors if they make up more than 50% of the employer’s total workforce (W-2 employees plus 1099 contractors) and unemployed persons so long as they have been unemployed for less than twenty-six (26) weeks and have met the earnings requirements. Much like unemployment benefits, the weekly paid leave benefit is calculated as a percentage of the worker’s earnings, up to $850 per week.