Commonwealth of Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave Policy

1. Scope

(a)   For purposes of this policy, the term “employee” shall mean any person who performs services for the Commonwealth for wage, remuneration, or other compensation, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary, and contract employees, as well as paid interns.

(b)   The designation of “bargaining unit” employee shall refer to employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”).  The designation of “managerial” and “confidential” employee shall refer to employees subject to the Rules Governing Paid Leave and Other Benefits for Managers and Confidential Employees (the “Red Book”).

(c)   This policy shall apply to all agencies within the Executive Department of the Commonwealth.

2. Accrual of Earned Sick Leave Benefits

(a)   Bargaining unit employees shall accumulate sick leave credits as provided by their respective CBAs.

(b)   Managerial and confidential employees shall accumulate sick leave as provided by the Red Book.

(c)   All other employees of the Commonwealth shall accumulate sick leave on an hourly basis at the rate of one hour of paid sick leave credit for every 30 hours of work (in increments of 2 minutes per hour), up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick leave credit during the calendar year. 

3. Use of Earned Sick Leave Benefits

(a)   Bargaining unit employees may continue to use sick leave benefits as provided in their respective CBAs.

(b)   Managerial and confidential employees may continue to use sick leave benefits as provided in the Red Book.

(c)   All other employees of the Commonwealth may use the sick leave benefits provided in Paragraph 2(c) above for the following purposes:

             i.      to care 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; or

             ii.      to care 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; or

             iii.      to attend the employee’s routine medical appointment or a routine medical appointment for the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of spouse; or

             iv.      to address the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence; or

             v.      to travel to and from an appointment, a pharmacy, or other location related to the purpose for which the time was taken.

(d)   Sick leave must be charged against unused sick leave credits in units of 15 minutes, but in no event may the sick leave credits used be less than the actual time off.

(e)   Employees may not use earned sick time as an excuse to be late for work without an authorized purpose.

4. Medical and Other Documentation

(a)   For all employees of the Commonwealth, the Appointing Authority may require medical certification with respect to the first 40 hours of sick leave use by an employee during the calendar year when the employee’s use of sick leave:

             i.      exceeds 24 consecutively scheduled work hours;

             ii.      exceeds 3 consecutive days on which the employee was scheduled to work;

             iii.      occurs within 2 weeks prior to an employee’s final scheduled day of work before termination of employment, except in the case of temporary employees;

             iv.      occurs after 4 unforeseeable and undocumented absences within a 3-month period; or

             v.      for employees aged 17 and under, occurs after 3 unforeseeable and undocumented absences within a 3-month period.

Notwithstanding the provisions above, an Appointing Authority that performs essential public health and safety functions may require employees making use of earned sick time during severe weather events or other emergencies to provide written documentation from a medical provider substantiating such use of sick time and to follow established notification procedures when doing so.  Failure to comply in such circumstances may be grounds for discipline.

(b)   Once an employee uses 40 hours of sick time during the calendar year, if s/he has additional sick time available to use, the Appointing Authority may require medical certification consistent with the relevant CBA, Red Book, or any other established policy or practice.

(c)   Employees who use sick leave for the purpose of addressing the psychological, physical or legal effects of domestic violence as provided in Paragraph 3(c)(iv) above may be required to provide documentation by the Appointing Authority when the employee’s use of sick leave for such purposes results in an absence of more than 24 consecutive work hours.  Any of the following documentation shall be considered to be sufficient for these purposes:

              i.      a restraining order or other documentation of equitable relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;

              ii.      a police record documenting the abuse;

              iii.      documentation that the perpetrator of the abuse has been convicted of one or more of the offenses enumerated in M.G.L. c. 265 where the victim was a family or household member;

              iv.      medical documentation of the abuse;

              v.      a statement provided by a counselor, social worker, health worker, member of the clergy, shelter worker, legal advocate, or other professional who has assisted the employee in addressing the effects of the abuse on the employee or the employee’s family; or

              vi.      a signed written statement from the employee attesting to the abuse.

(d)   If an Appointing Authority determines that an employee is exhibiting a clear pattern of misuse of sick leave (e.g., requesting and/or taking leave on days just before or after a regularly scheduled day off, vacation day, or holiday), the Appointing Authority may discipline the employee, unless the employee provides verification of authorized use of sick leave.

5. Carryover of Accumulated Sick Leave Benefits

(a)   Bargaining unit employees may continue to rollover accumulated sick leave benefits at the end of the calendar year as provided by their respective CBAs.

(b)   Managerial and confidential employees may continue to rollover accumulated sick leave benefits at the end of the calendar year as provided by the Red Book.

(c)   All other employees of the Commonwealth may rollover up to 40 hours of unused earned sick time at the end of the calendar year for immediate use in the next calendar year.  Such employees will continue to accrue sick leave at the rate described in Paragraph 2(c) during the next calendar year, provided, however, that once the employee possesses a bank of 40 hours of earned sick time, s/he will not continue to accrue additional hours of earned sick time. 

6. Breaks in Service

(a)   Bargaining unit employees, managerial employees, and confidential employees who separate from employment and are subsequently reinstated or reemployed after an absence of less than three years shall be credited with all unused sick leave credits available to him/her at the time of the prior separation.  Bargaining unit employees, managerial employees, and confidential employees who are reinstated or reemployed after a period of three years or more may only receive prior sick leave credits as provided in the relevant CBA or Red Book, whichever is applicable.

(b)   All other employees of the Commonwealth who separate from employment and are subsequently reinstated or reemployed shall be credited with unused sick leave credits, not to exceed a total of 40 hours, as follows, provided the break in service is for a period of one year or less:

              i.      Following a break in service of up to 4 months, an employee shall maintain the right to use any unused sick time accrued before the break in service.

              ii.      Following a break in service of between 4 and 12 months, an employee shall maintain the right to use earned sick time accrued before the break in service if the employee’s unused sick time equals or exceeds 10 hours. 

7. Separation from Service

(a)   When an employee separates from service for reasons other than retirement, s/he shall not be entitled to receive any compensation in lieu of accumulated sick leave credits.

(b)   Bargaining unit employees, managerial employees, and confidential employees who retire shall be entitled to receive compensation for the value of their unused accrued sick leave as provided in the relevant CBA or Red Book, whichever is applicable.

Last Modified: 8/4/23