SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2605
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
SENATE, March 4, 2024.
The committee on Labor and Workforce Development, to whom was referred the
petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1197) of Jason M. Lewis, Rebecca L. Rausch, Jack
Patrick Lewis, Michael D. Brady and other members of the General Court for legislation to
improve the Massachusetts paid family medical leave law; (accompanied by bill, Senate, No.
1198) of Jason M. Lewis, Lydia Edwards, James B. Eldridge and Paul R. Feeney for legislation
to amend the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave law definitions of a covered business
entity and a covered contract worker; (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1858) of Josh S. Cutler
and others relative to the publication of hearing decisions by the Department of Family and
Medical Leave; (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1859) of Josh S. Cutler and others relative to
data reporting by the Department of Family and Medical Leave; (accompanied by bill, House,
No. 1860) of Josh S. Cutler and others for legislation to include bone marrow and organ donation
in the paid family and medical leave program; (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1888) of
Kenneth I. Gordon and others relative to the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave Law;
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 1889) of Kenneth I. Gordon and others relative to the
definitions of covered business entity and covered contract worker under the Massachusetts Paid
Family Medical Leave Law; and (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1942) of Jeffrey N. Roy
relative to unemployment benefits for replacement workers, report the accompanying bill
(Senate, No. 2605).
For the committee,
Patricia D. Jehlen 1 of 11
FILED ON: 2/6/2024
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2605
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act improving the Massachusetts paid family medical leave law.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 edition are hereby amended by
2adding, after Chapter 23M, the following new section:
3 Chapter 23N.
4 Section 1. (a) There is hereby established an advisory council on paid family and medical
5leave in this chapter and in chapter one hundred and seventy-five M, called the advisory council,
6with members to be appointed by the Governor. The voting membership of said council shall be
7composed of nine members in total with four members representing employers and providers of
8paid family and medical leave in the commonwealth, at least one of whom shall represent
9manufacturing classifications, at least one of whom shall represent the retail industry, at least one
10of whom shall represent contracting classifications, and one of whom shall represent the staffing
11industry and four members representing employees, at least one of whom shall represent a
12private sector union, one of whom shall represent a public sector union, one of whom shall
13represent a community based organization, and one of whom shall have knowledge and 2 of 11
14experience with the temporary disability insurance system”. The Governor shall also appoint one
15member representing the public provided the public member has appropriate knowledge and
16familiarity with paid family and medical leave law and practices in the workplace.
17 The Governor shall also appoint one member representing the temporary disability
18insurance industry, 2 attorneys specializing in employment and/or labor law, with one having a
19practice representing employees and one having a practice representing employers, and one
20member who is self-employed, none of whom shall be voting members.
21 The secretary of labor and workforce development and the secretary of housing and
22economic development shall be ex officio, nonvoting members. Any person appointed to fill a
23vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term of his predecessor shall be appointed for the
24unexpired portion of such term.
25 (b) In appointing initial members to the Advisory Council, the Governor shall appoint
26one employer and one employee member for a period of two years, one from each group for a
27period of three years, one from each group for a period of four years and one for each group for a
28period of five years. The two public members shall be appointed for a period of three years.
29After the initial appointment, each appointee shall be eligible to be reappointed for one term of
30five years. Members shall be eligible for no more than an initial appointment and one
31reappointment. In appointing council members, the Governor must seek to appoint members
32reflecting the widest representational diversity possible consistent with the demographics of the
33commonwealth.
34 Seven members shall constitute a quorum for purposes of holding a meeting and voting.
35No formal action or position shall be taken by the council without the affirmative vote of at least 3 of 11
36seven members. All members of the advisory council shall serve without compensation and at
37the pleasure of the Governor. The advisory council shall meet no less than quarterly during each
38calendar year.
39 Meetings of the advisory council shall be called by the chair or upon written petition by a
40majority of voting members. Such meetings shall be subject to section 11A1/2 of chapter 30A.
41The secretary of labor and workforce development or designee, the chair of the commonwealth
42employment relations board, and the director of the department shall serve as ex-officio non-
43voting members of the advisory council.
44 Extraordinary meetings of said advisory council may also be called by the chairman and
45vice chairman, jointly or upon petition by a majority of voting members. Such meetings shall be
46subject to the provisions of section 11 1/2 of chapter 30A. Said advisory council shall take no
47action pursuant to its authority under this chapter or said chapter one hundred and seventy-five
48unless a quorum of its voting members is present.
49 Meetings may be held more frequently at the joint request of the chair and vice chair of
50the council, provided they give all members at least 30 days notice of any extraordinary meeting
51and its purpose or of their intention to regularly hold meetings more frequently.
52 (c) The governor shall, from time to time, designate one of the council members as chair
53of the advisory council. The chair shall serve for no more than 2 years, and the position shall
54rotate among employee, employer, and public members. No member of the advisory council
55shall be subject to chapter 31. Such appointees shall not succeed themselves as chairman or vice-
56chairman. 4 of 11
57 Members shall receive their traveling and other necessary expenses incurred in the
58performance of their duties.
59 Section 2. The advisory council shall appoint such personnel as are reasonable and
60necessary for the proper discharge of its duties, subject to the approval of the secretary of labor
61and workforce development. The staff of the advisory council shall be funded from
62administrative cost monies collected for the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund in
63accordance with the provisions of section 7 of said chapter one hundred and seventy-five M. The
64advisory council may expend for personnel and office expenses funds appropriated to the
65department for that purpose.
66 The director shall provide for the advisory council suitable meeting space and such
67clerical and other administrative assistance as the director and the council may deem necessary.
68 Section 3. The advisory council shall monitor, recommend, give testimony, and report on
69all aspects of the Paid Family and Medical Leave system, except for the adjudication of
70particular claims or complaints. Its powers include the issuance of reports, recommendations for
71legislation, policies and programs, the conducting of research, the collecting of data from public
72and private sources, and powers granted under the provisions of chapter one hundred and
73seventy-five M to oversee the operation and implementation of the law.
74 The advisory council shall report at least annually in writing by no later than 90 days
75following the last day of the fiscal year of the commonwealth to the secretary of labor and
76workforce development on the state of the Paid Family and Medical Leave system, and shall
77cause a copy of such report to be filed with the clerks of the house and senate of the general court
78who shall send copies of such report to the joint committee on labor and workforce development 5 of 11
79and the house and senate committees on ways and means. The report shall include an evaluation
80of the operations of the department, and of the experience and financial condition of the Family
81and Employment Security Trust Fund, along with recommendations for improving the paid
82family and medical leave system.
83 Said advisory council shall also review the annual operating budget of the department, as
84prepared by the director and as submitted to the secretary of labor and workforce development.
85Upon the affirmative vote of at least seven voting members, the advisory council may submit its
86own recommendation for the total operating budget to the secretary of labor and workforce
87development.
88 The agency shall cooperate fully with all reasonable written requests for information and
89documentation from the advisory council requested in pursuit of its established duties.
90 No later than five years after the establishment of the advisory council, it shall make an
91investigation and study as to the costs and benefits associated with the regulations implementing
92the insurance options pursuant to Section 11, to ensure completeness of coverage and
93competitiveness in pricing.
94 The advisory council may expend, for the legal, actuarial, research, clerical, and other
95expenses involved in the completion of such investigations and studies, such sums as may be
96appropriated therefor subject to the administrative oversight of the Executive Office of Labor
97and Workforce Development.
98 Said council shall file the results of its investigations and studies, and its
99recommendations, if any, together with any drafts of legislation necessary to carry its 6 of 11
100recommendations into effect with the governor and with the clerks of the house and senate of the
101general court at the end of each fiscal year.
102 Section 4. Upon the creation of formal appeal and review process into an appeals board
103for resolving claims by the Department of Family and Medical Leave, the advisory council shall
104serve as the nominating panel for the appointment of any members to the appeals board. Before
105any submission of nominations for appointment or reappointment to the board of review by the
106Governor, the advisory council shall review applications for such nominations and consider the
107following factors:
108 (1) skills in fact-finding;
109 (2) demonstrated basic understanding of family and medical leave law and/or temporary
110disability law; and
111 (3) a bachelor's degree, advanced degree or demonstrated writing ability as evidenced by
112at least 4 years in positions in which writing skills are a major job responsibility.
113 Each review of an applicant shall be made based on the application, experience,
114education and training of the applicant, writing samples, in-person interviews, and any other
115information the panel may require. When the application is for reappointment, the panel shall
116review, in addition to any other information, the performance since the candidate's appointment
117including, but not limited to:
118 (1) three decisions written and selected by the applicant;
119 (2) where applicable, the total number of cases decided by the applicant heard by an
120appellate body, and the number of those cases which were remanded for further proceedings; 7 of 11
121 (3) any decisions of an appellate body which specifically reference the candidate's
122demeanor or temperament;
123 (4) at the discretion of the director, written complaints from organizations that appear
124before the appeals process, to the director regarding the candidate's demeanor or temperament;
125and
126 (5) evidence of any demonstrable bias against particular parties, organizations or
127attorneys.
128 The advisory council shall rate the candidate as highly qualified, qualified or unqualified.
129 If appropriate or requested, any information regarding a candidate compiled by the state
130advisory council or the director shall be forwarded to the governor prior to the Governor
131selecting an applicant.
132 SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 175M of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
133Official Edition, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 26, the words “1099-MISC”
134and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 1099-NEC, or successor form,
135 SECTION 3. Said section 1 of chapter 175M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
136by striking out, in line 30, the words “1099-MISC” and inserting in place thereof the following
137words:- 1099-NEC, or successor form,
138 SECTION 4. Subsection (a) of section 4 of chapter 175M, as so appearing, is hereby
139amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following paragraph:-
140 When an employee requests leave under this chapter, or when the employer acquires
141knowledge that an employee's leave may be for a qualifying reason under this chapter, the 8 of 11
142employer must notify the employee of the employee's eligibility to take paid leave under this
143chapter within five business days, absent extenuating circumstances, by giving the employee the
144appropriate leave certification form as designated by the department, in the primary language of
145the employee.
146 SECTION 5. Said subsection (a) of Section 4 of chapter 175M, as so appearing, is hereby
147amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following paragraph:-
148 When a covered contract worker requests leave under this chapter, or when the covered
149business entity acquires knowledge that a covered contractor worker’s leave may be for a
150qualifying reason under this chapter, the covered business entity must notify the worker of the
151worker’s eligibility to take leave under this chapter within five business days, absent extenuating
152circumstances, by giving the worker the appropriate leave certification form as designated by the
153department, in their primary language.
154 SECTION 6. Subsection (b) of section 7 of chapter 175M of the General Laws, as so
155appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the
156following sentence:-
157 The costs of administering the department under this chapter shall be paid from the trust
158fund and in each fiscal year shall not exceed 5 per cent of the amount remaining in the fund at
159the end of the previous fiscal year; provided that, regardless of the trust fund balance at the end
160of a fiscal year, in no fiscal year shall the amount available to the director for administering the
161department decrease by more than 5 per cent from the previous year 9 of 11
162 SECTION 7. Subsection (e) of section 7 of chapter 175M of the General Laws, as so
163appearing, is hereby amended by striking clause (vii) from the first sentence in the second
164paragraph in its entirety and inserting the following clause at the end of clause (vi), on line 92:-
165 (vii) overall claimant demographics by age, gender, race and ethnicity, primary language
166of applicant, geography, average weekly wage, occupation, employment type (full or part time or
167self-employed), and the type of leave taken;
168 And by striking the word “and” after the semicolon at the end of clause (xii), at line 100;
169 And by striking clause (xiii) in its entirety and inserting at the end of clause (xii), at line
170100, the following:-
171 (xiii) the number of cases remaining open at the close of such year; (xiv) the number of
172businesses and total workforce headcount enrolled, and the number of businesses and total
173workforce headcount covered by private plans; and (xv) the length of time between a covered
174individual’s first day of leave and their first payment of benefits. Data in (ii) through (vi), (xi),
175and (xv) shall be disaggregated by age, gender, race and ethnicity, primary language of applicant,
176geography, average weekly wage, occupation, employment type, and the type of leave taken.
177Data in (iii) and (vi) shall be further disaggregated by the relationship between the claimant and
178family member. Data in (vi) shall be further disaggregated by year of birth or placement.
179 SECTION . Said subsection (e) of section 7 of chapter 175M, as so appearing, is hereby
180further amended by inserting after the last sentence at the end of the second paragraph the
181following sentence:- 10 of 11
182 . The report shall also include details on the annual public education campaign conducted
183pursuant to subsection (f) of section 8 of this chapter, including, but not limited to, employer
184outreach efforts and materials, multilingual outreach materials and evidence of multimedia
185distribution.
186 SECTION 9. Said subsection (e) of section 7 of chapter 175M, as so appearing, is hereby
187further amended by inserting after the end of the second paragraph the following paragraph:-
188 The department shall establish a publicly accessible online dashboard using updated
189reporting information on the program. The information in the dashboard shall include: (i) total
190number of claims filed; (ii) total number of eligible claims; (iii) total number of claims denied;
191(iv) claimant demographics by age, gender, average weekly wage, occupation and the type of
192leave taken; and (v) average weekly benefit amount paid for all claims and by category of leave.
193The dashboard shall be updated no less than quarterly.
194 SECTION 10. Subsection (d) of section 8 of chapter 175M of the General Laws, as
195appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word
196“defendant”, in line 50, the following sentence:-
197 . The department shall cause to be published all hearing decisions on their website,
198provided, however, that the department shall refrain from including, or partially redact where
199inclusion is necessary, any personal data identifiers, including, but not limited to, names, date of
200birth, names of minor children and any protected medical information
201 SECTION 11. Subsection (f) of section 8 of chapter 175M, as so appearing, is hereby
202amended by striking out, in line 60, the word “a” and inserting in place thereof the following
203words:- an annual 11 of 11
204 SECTION 12. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, if an
205employee, hired as a result of a covered individual taking leave under the provisions of chapter
206175M of the general laws, is subsequently separated from that employment when the covered
207individual is restored to that position, and is eligible for unemployment insurance benefits under
208the provisions of chapter 151A of the general laws, those benefit charges shall not accrue to the
209employer’s experience rating but rather shall be charged to the solvency fund.
210 SECTION 13. Not later than June 1, 2025, the department of family and medical leave
211shall report on the long-term financial stability of the Family and Employment Security Trust
212Fund, and review of existing policies under section 7 of chapter 175M, including the requirement
213that the trust fund shall maintain an annualized amount of not less than 140 per cent of the
214previous fiscal year's expenditures.