Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2167 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. 537 FILED ON: 1/9/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2167
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Lindsay N. Sabadosa
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 Hampshire1/9/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 537 FILED ON: 1/9/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2167
18	18	By Representative Sabadosa of Northampton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2167)
19	19	of Lindsay N. Sabadosa relative to wrongful discharge from employment. Labor and Workforce
20	20	Development.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to wrongful discharge from employment.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 150A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
30	30	2following in Section 2-
31	31	3 (13) "Constructive discharge" means the voluntary termination of employment by an
32	32	4employee because of a situation created by an act or omission of the employer which an
33	33	5objective, reasonable person would find so intolerable that voluntary termination is the only
34	34	6reasonable alternative. Constructive discharge does not mean voluntary termination because of
35	35	7an employer's refusal to promote the employee or improve wages, responsibilities, or other terms
36	36	8and conditions of employment.
37	37	9 (14) "Discharge" includes a constructive discharge as defined in subsection (1) and any
38	38	10other termination of employment, including resignation, elimination of the job, layoff for lack of
39	39	11work, failure to recall or rehire, and any other cutback in the number of employees for a
40	40	12legitimate business reason. 2 of 4
41	41	13 (15) "Employee" means a person who works for another for hire. The term does not
42	42	14include a person who is an independent contractor.
43	43	15 (16) "Fringe benefits" means the value of any employer-paid vacation leave, sick leave,
44	44	16medical insurance plan, disability insurance plan, life insurance plan, and pension benefit plan in
45	45	17force on the date of the termination.
46	46	18 (17) “Good cause” means reasonable job-related grounds for dismissal based on a failure
47	47	19to satisfactorily perform job duties, disruption of the employer’s operation, or other legitimate
48	48	20business reason. The legal use of a lawful product by an individual off the employer’s premises
49	49	21during nonworking hours is not a legitimate business reason, unless otherwise proscribed by law.
50	50	22 (18) “Lost wages” means the gross amount of wages that would have been reported to the
51	51	23internal revenue service as gross income on form W-2 and includes additional compensation
52	52	24deferred at the option of the employee.
53	53	25 SECTION 2. Chapter 150A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the
54	54	26following section-
55	55	27 Section 3B. Wrongful discharge from employment
56	56	28 (a) A discharge is wrongful only if:
57	57	29 (i) It was in retaliation for the employee’s refusal to violate public policy or for reporting
58	58	30a violation of public policy;
59	59	31 (ii) The discharge was not for good cause and the employee had completed the
60	60	32employer’s probationary period of employment; or 3 of 4
61	61	33 (iii) The employer violated the express provisions of its written personnel policy.
62	62	34 (b) (i) During a probationary period of employment, the employment may be terminated
63	63	35at the will of either the employer or the employee on notice to the other for any reason or for no
64	64	36reason.
65	65	37 (ii) If an employer does not establish a specific probationary period or provide that there
66	66	38is no probationary period prior to or at the time of hire, there is a probationary period of six
67	67	39months from the date of hire.
68	68	40 (c) (i) If an employer has committed a wrongful discharge, the employee may be awarded
69	69	41lost wages and fringe benefits for a period not to exceed 4 years from the date of discharge,
70	70	42together with interest on the lost wages and fringe benefits. Interim earnings, including amounts
71	71	43the employee could have earned with reasonable diligence, must be deducted from the amount
72	72	44awarded for lost wages. Before interim earnings are deducted from lost wages, there must be
73	73	45deducted from the interim earnings any reasonable amounts expended by the employee in
74	74	46searching for, obtaining, or relocating to new employment.
75	75	47 (ii) The employee may recover punitive damages otherwise allowed by law if it is
76	76	48established by clear and convincing evidence that the employer engaged in actual fraud of actual
77	77	49malice in the discharge of an employee in violation of Section 3B(a)(i).
78	78	50 (iii) There is no right under any legal theory to damages for wrongful discharge under
79	79	51this part for pain and suffering, emotional distress, compensatory damages, punitive damages, or
80	80	52any other form of damages, except as provided in this section.
81	81	53 (iv) An action under this part must be filed within one year after the date of discharge. 4 of 4
82	82	54 (d) This part does not apply to a discharge:
83	83	55 (i) That is subject to any other state or federal statute that provides a procedure or remedy
84	84	56for contesting the dispute. The statutes include those that prohibit discharge for filing complaints,
85	85	57charges, or claims with administrative bodies or that prohibit unlawful discrimination based on
86	86	58race, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, political belief, color, marital status, and
87	87	59other similar grounds;
88	88	60 (ii) An employee covered by a written collective bargaining agreement or a written
89	89	61contract of employment for a specific term;
90	90	62 (iii) Except as provided in the section, no claim for discharge may arise from tort or
91	91	63express or implied contract.