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Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave

June 1, 2021

On Friday, May 28, 2021, Governor Baker signed an act that requires Massachusetts employers to provide COVID-19 emergency sick leave to employees effective immediately. Employees are eligible for the emergency sick leave if they are diagnosed with COVID, required to quarantine or need to care for a family member who is sick with COVID. The COVID emergency sick leave is also available to employees who are getting vaccinated or recovering from vaccine side effects.


Employees are eligible for up to 5 days of leave, at their regular rate of pay, capped at $850 a week. Employers may not require employees to use other types of paid leave before they use COVID-19 emergency leave. Also, employers may not interfere with an employee’s ability to take the emergency sick leave or discipline an employee for taking the leave.


The Act creates a $75 million fund to reimburse employers for providing employees with the emergency sick leave. Employers seeking reimbursement must have employees submit a written request. Employers should use a form to collect the required information from employees. The requirement to provide COVID emergency sick leave will last until September 30, 2021, or until the fund runs out. 


While employers must comply with this new law immediately, guidance on the mechanics of the law have yet to be released. The Commonwealth claims such guidance will be given “in the coming weeks.”


In the meantime, for any questions on compliance, or estimations on the type of guidance we can expect, please contact any of the attorneys at Royal Law Firm at 413-586-2288.

Employer’s Counterclaims in Response to Suit Under Wage Act Dismissed Per Employee’s Anti-SLAPP Motion

January 15, 2025
An employer brought counterclaims of malicious prosecution and abuse-of-process in response to a Wage Act suit brought by an employee. The Appeals Court cited that the employer’s counterclaims should have been dismissed under the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law. Anti-SLAPP laws are meant to provide parties with a way to quickly dismiss meritless lawsuits filed against them, usually in response to a lawsuit. The plaintiff in this case, an hourly laborer, claimed that his employer violated the Wage Act by failing to pay him for four of the six weeks he worked for them. The employer refuted these allegations, stating that the employee had only worked for two weeks, that he had been paid in full and then brought counterclaims of malicious prosecution and abuse of process. The District Court judge denied the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss the counterclaims under the anti-SLAPP law. When brought to the Appeals Court, the decision was reversed; the Appeals Court stated that the defendants did not meet the burden of showing that plaintiff’s claims lacked an objectively reasonable factual basis. This ruling suggests that it might behoove an employer to pause and wait to see if a plaintiff’s Wage Act claim fails before filing a counterclaim of abuse of process or malicious prosecution in response.  If your business has any questions on this topic or any other matters, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at The Royal Law Firm at 413-586-2288.

Compensation Plans and Contingent Compensation Pitfalls

January 8, 2025
Attorney Trevor Brice hosted a seminar on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, discussing the possible issues with current compensation plans and contingent compensation pitfalls made possible by recent court rulings. Some of the topics discussed included: Issues with current compensation plans under the FLSA Restrictive Covenants and Compensation Plans Problems with Commission-Based Compensation Plans and Possible Solutions When a Bonus is not actually a bonus and issues under the Massachusetts Wage Act This seminar was perfect for H.R. professionals and anyone in a management position. Please feel free to contact any of the attorneys at The Royal Law Firm if you have any questions on this topic!
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