Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1946 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 121 FILED ON: 1/9/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1946
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Lindsay N. Sabadosa and Paul W. Mark
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to wrongful discharge from employment.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/9/2023Paul W. MarkBerkshire, Hampden, Franklin and
16	16	Hampshire
17	17	1/9/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester2/15/2023 1 of 4
18	18	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 121 FILED ON: 1/9/2023
19	19	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1946
20	20	By Representative Sabadosa of Northampton and Senator Mark, a joint petition (accompanied by
21	21	bill, House, No. 1946) of Lindsay N. Sabadosa, Paul W. Mark and Michael O. Moore relative to
22	22	wrongful discharge from employment. Labor and Workforce Development.
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
26	26	(2023-2024)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act relative to wrongful discharge from employment.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 150A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
32	32	2following in Section 2-
33	33	3 (13) "Constructive discharge" means the voluntary termination of employment by an
34	34	4employee because of a situation created by an act or omission of the employer which an
35	35	5objective, reasonable person would find so intolerable that voluntary termination is the only
36	36	6reasonable alternative. Constructive discharge does not mean voluntary termination because of
37	37	7an employer's refusal to promote the employee or improve wages, responsibilities, or other terms
38	38	8and conditions of employment.
39	39	9 (14) "Discharge" includes a constructive discharge as defined in subsection (1) and any
40	40	10other termination of employment, including resignation, elimination of the job, layoff for lack of
41	41	11work, failure to recall or rehire, and any other cutback in the number of employees for a
42	42	12legitimate business reason. 2 of 4
43	43	13 (15) "Employee" means a person who works for another for hire. The term does not
44	44	14include a person who is an independent contractor.
45	45	15 (16) "Fringe benefits" means the value of any employer-paid vacation leave, sick leave,
46	46	16medical insurance plan, disability insurance plan, life insurance plan, and pension benefit plan in
47	47	17force on the date of the termination.
48	48	18 (17) “Good cause” means reasonable job-related grounds for dismissal based on a failure
49	49	19to satisfactorily perform job duties, disruption of the employer’s operation, or other legitimate
50	50	20business reason. The legal use of a lawful product by an individual off the employer’s premises
51	51	21during nonworking hours is not a legitimate business reason, unless otherwise proscribed by law.
52	52	22 (18) “Lost wages” means the gross amount of wages that would have been reported to the
53	53	23internal revenue service as gross income on form W-2 and includes additional compensation
54	54	24deferred at the option of the employee.
55	55	25 SECTION 2. Chapter 150A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
56	56	26following section-
57	57	27 Section 3B. Wrongful discharge from employment
58	58	28 (a) A discharge is wrongful only if:
59	59	29 (i) It was in retaliation for the employee’s refusal to violate public policy or for reporting
60	60	30a violation of public policy;
61	61	31 (ii) The discharge was not for good cause and the employee had completed the
62	62	32employer’s probationary period of employment; or 3 of 4
63	63	33 (iii) The employer violated the express provisions of its written personnel policy.
64	64	34 (b) (i) During a probationary period of employment, the employment may be terminated
65	65	35at the will of either the employer or the employee on notice to the other for any reason or for no
66	66	36reason.
67	67	37 (ii) If an employer does not establish a specific probationary period or provide that there
68	68	38is no probationary period prior to or at the time of hire, there is a probationary period of six
69	69	39months from the date of hire.
70	70	40 (c) (i) If an employer has committed a wrongful discharge, the employee may be awarded
71	71	41lost wages and fringe benefits for a period not to exceed 4 years from the date of discharge,
72	72	42together with interest on the lost wages and fringe benefits. Interim earnings, including amounts
73	73	43the employee could have earned with reasonable diligence, must be deducted from the amount
74	74	44awarded for lost wages. Before interim earnings are deducted from lost wages, there must be
75	75	45deducted from the interim earnings any reasonable amounts expended by the employee in
76	76	46searching for, obtaining, or relocating to new employment.
77	77	47 (ii) The employee may recover punitive damages otherwise allowed by law if it is
78	78	48established by clear and convincing evidence that the employer engaged in actual fraud of actual
79	79	49malice in the discharge of an employee in violation of Section 3B(a)(i).
80	80	50 (iii) There is no right under any legal theory to damages for wrongful discharge under
81	81	51this part for pain and suffering, emotional distress, compensatory damages, punitive damages, or
82	82	52any other form of damages, except as provided in this section.
83	83	53 (iv) An action under this part must be filed within one year after the date of discharge. 4 of 4
84	84	54 (d) This part does not apply to a discharge:
85	85	55 (i) That is subject to any other state or federal statute that provides a procedure or remedy
86	86	56for contesting the dispute. The statutes include those that prohibit discharge for filing complaints,
87	87	57charges, or claims with administrative bodies or that prohibit unlawful discrimination based on
88	88	58race, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, political belief, color, marital status, and
89	89	59other similar grounds;
90	90	60 (ii) An employee covered by a written collective bargaining agreement or a written
91	91	61contract of employment for a specific term;
92	92	62 (iii) Except as provided in the section, no claim for discharge may arise from tort or
93	93	63express or implied contract.