Can I Opt Out of Massachusetts Family and Medical Leave Law

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this commodity is to notify employers what they need to do now to comply with the beginning aspects of the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Get out Human action (PFML). Thanks to a recently implemented 3-calendar month extension, the new police force takes effect on October one, 2019. Employers must follow the numbered steps below by September 30, 2019 to comply.

The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Human action (PFML) volition be implemented on a rolling schedule, beginning on October i, 2019, and taking full effect on January 1, 2021. For any work performed starting October 1, 2019, employers must deduct the required employee contributions from employee paychecks. These contributions will fund the new paid leave opportunities that will embark fifteen months later on, on January 1, 2021.

• There are two funds: 1. Paid Family Leave, and ii. Paid Medical Leave.
• Both will be funded by a total contribution of .75% of the starting time $132,900 of an employee's annual wages. This .75% includes both the employee's contributions and the employer's contributions, if any.
• Paid family leave volition exist funded by .13% of payroll (or 17.5% of the total contribution).
• Employers are not required to contribute toward Paid Family Exit, so this may be funded 100% by the employee.
• Paid medical leave will be funded past .62% of payroll (or 82.5% of the total contribution).
• Employers with 25 or more than employees are required to fund no less than sixty% of the contribution for Paid Medical Leave. Employees may exist required to pay the deviation, upward 40%, of the Paid Medical Leave contribution.
• For companies that accept fewer than 25 employees, the employer is not required to contribute to either fund, so contributions to both funds may exist entirely employee-paid.
• Regardless of the size of the employer, bold the employer makes the minimum contribution, if any, an employee'southward total contribution will be .378% of i percent of his or her earnings — .13% for Family Medical Leave and .248% (40% of .62%) for Paid Medical Leave.

The infographic below shows this same information in a flowchart format.

WHAT EMPLOYERS MUST DO Before SEPTEMBER 30, 2019:

ane. Provide Notice to Employees

Post the Notice Prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave.

The first thing Massachusetts employers must practise by September 30, 2019 is mail service the discover prepared by the Department of Family and Medical Leave ("Department") in the mutual area(s) of the business where employee notice postings are presently posted. Any employer that has five or more workers whose primary linguistic communication is other than English language must also post the detect in the primary language of those five or more other individuals. The Commonwealth has generated the observe in multiple different languages for employers to utilize. It can also be establish on the www.Mass.gov/DFML website or at this link: https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2019/06/14/20190614_DFML%20Notice_English.pdf

Notify All Employees Personally in Writing.

The second thing Massachusetts employers must do is provide each employee with a notice apprising the employee of the police and any employer contributions or private plan exemption.

The Department has prepared a class entitled the "Rights and Obligations Under the Massachusetts Family and Medical Exit Act, M.G.L. c. 175M." While employers may generate their ain grade, we recommend using the Department's template. A copy of each of the Section's applicable templates is attached to the end of this Article, and they can also exist found on the www.Mass.gov/DFML website. As to when employees must employees must receive the notice:

• Current employees must receive this personal written notice no later than September 30, 2019.
• All new hires thereafter must receive this written notice within xxx days of starting employment.

Any business entity that uses Independent Contractors (as divers past MGL c. 149, section 148B) need only provide this find to those Contained Contractors if Contained Contractors make upwards more than than 50% of the business organization entity's full workforce. The Department has prepared a template for businesses that fall into this category and it also is available on the Commonwealth'due south website.

Guidance on Filling Out the Employer Notice to Employee Form

There are three areas on the personal detect to all employees that need to be filled out by the employer (the same course volition be used for each of a company'southward employees):

1. First the employer must provide its name, address, and ID number.
2. Second, employers must indicate how much of the contribution will be made by the employer for the Paid Medical Leave fund, and how much will be deducted from the employee's paycheck. Unless the employer opts to pay more than than its required share, the employer'southward share will be sixty%, and the employee'south share will be xl% assuming the company has 25 or more than employees. For companies with fewer than 25 employees, the employer is not obligated to contribute at all, and so the contribution may come up only from the employee. Whereas an employee volition never be obligated to pay more than 40% percent of the total Paid Medical Go out contribution regardless of the size of the employer, his or paying being required to pay 100% percent of the contribution simply means he or she will pay 100% of the 40% that can exist assessed to the employee.
3. Third, employers must enumerate how much of the contribution will exist made by the employer towards the Family Medical Leave fund, and how much will be deducted from the employee'southward earnings. Unless the employer opts to pay more its required share, the employer's share will be 0% and the employee's share volition be 100%

To assist employers, the Department has created a contribution calculator that will guide them regarding the contribution requirements. It can exist constitute at: https://calculator.digital.mass.gov/pfml/contribution/

At the cease of the form there is a place for each employee to acknowledge timely receipt of the grade by signing it and returning it to the employer. Employers should keep detailed records of the date on which it provided the form to each employee and information technology should follow upwards with each employee to have him or her return the signed acknowledgment. If an employee, for whatever reason, is unwilling to sign and render the acknowledgement the employer may accept the employee sign an alternative affirmation acknowledging receipt. If the employee also refuses to sign whatsoever alternative acknowledgment, the employer's records should detail all relevant dates and times of whatever such refusal and a copy of that information should be retained by the employer.

Employers that fail to notify employees of the new law past a personal written notice before September 30, 2019 (in the case of current employees) and within thirty days of starting employment (for future employees), could be subject area to a $50 punishment for each employee who was not timely notified. Thereafter the fine increases to $300 per employee for subsequent offenses pursued by the Commonwealth.

2. Begin Deducting the Required Contributions.

Once an employer has posted the notice of the new law, and has notified all employees in writing, the adjacent affair all Massachusetts employers must do is arrange their payroll systems to begin deducting the required withholdings on all wages earned past all employees on October 1st and across. A concern demand not deduct whatever contributions from any payments information technology makes to Independent Contractors unless, every bit described in a higher place, more than 50% of the business's workforce are Independent Contractors rather than employees.

The withholdings but utilize to work performed on and after October i, 2019.

The deductions demand not be taken from wages paid afterward October 1 for work performed on or before September 30, 2019.

As with many other taxes and withholding retained by employers from employees' paychecks, employers volition be required to remit the employee withholdings and employer contributions, if whatever, quarterly. In the case of the PFML Act, the first applicable quarter ends on December 31st, 2019 and all withholdings tied to that quarter (Q4) must exist paid via the Massachusetts Section of Revenue's MassTax Connect organization on or before the quarterly filing deadline established by the Department of Revenue which for Q4 of 2019 will be Jan 2020.

Private Plan EXEMPTION

Under the PFML Act, in that location is one way that Massachusetts employers and their employees may avert making any contributions to ane, or both, of the new funds tied to Family and Medical exit. It is referred to as the "Private Program Exemption."

Employers that offer an employer-sponsored paid go out programme that is equally or more generous than the PFML— in all aspects of either the employee medical get out and/or the family medical get out — may seek an exemption from the applicative contribution(south). Employers have until December xx, 2019 to use for a individual plan exemption to avert making Q4 contributions into the funds. While the particulars of the Individual Plan Exemption are beyond the scope of this Commodity and will be detailed in the next article in this series, I will nonetheless mention one key aspect now. Presently, near private plans consist of premium-based employer-sponsored short-term disability (STD) leave policies that only provide benefits to electric current employees. Since the PFML Deed allows former employees to initiate admission paid get out for a period after they take left an employer's utilize, near all current STD policies in place will not likely be establish by the Department to provide an every bit or greater benefit to the PFML — and will not be approved without modifications being made to them.

Whatever employer that offers disability and other employee paid go out protections should coordinate with their insurance provider (unless the plan is cocky-funded) to decide whether their plan meets the strict criteria under the PFLA and, if not, what changes may be needed. Whatever employer that believes its plan meets the exemption criteria should employ for the exemption as soon equally possible but not later than Dec 20, 2019. If the exemption is approved the employer will not need to remit the Q4 contributions at the end of that quarter. Whatsoever employer seeking the Private Plan Exemption may utilize for it at whatever time but will be responsible for remitting the contributions to the Section for the agenda quarter in which the exemption is applied for — with the sole exception of Q4 2019 — where the Section has allowed applications received past December 20, 2019 to be retroactive to October 1, 2019, if canonical. For example, if an employer applies for an exemption on December 22nd and their plan is canonical and exempted, that employer will still need to remit the contributions tied to calendar Q4 2019 because its awarding for an exemption for Q4 was not submitted by December 20, 2019.

Decision

This guide for Massachusetts employers is the kickoff commodity in a series of articles planned for the next few months. Future volition cover all other aspects of the new Massachusetts Paid Family unit and Medical Go out Human action. The 2nd article in the serial will provide insight into the Private Plan Exemption. Whatever employer with questions nearly the described action items or any other attribute of PFML is welcome to contact me.

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Source: https://www.fletchertilton.com/massachusetts-paid-family-and-medical-leave-step-one-of-a-stepbystep-guide-for-massachusetts-employers-to-comply-with-this-new-law

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