Will new sick-time law cause headaches?
Brendan O'Connor, the owner of O'Connors Restaurant in Worcester, isn't upset that the state will make his business offer paid sick days to all employees starting July 1. It will mean higher costs that he'll have to pass on to customers, he said, but he doesn't take issue with the idea.
"We voted for this as a state, we voted this in," he said. "I think if people get genuinely sick and they need coverage, I don't think there's a person in the world who would deny them."
What bothers O'Connor, though, is that, just days before the new law takes effect, the state still hadn't issued final regulations defining exactly what it will require. The public comment period for the proposed regulations didn't expire until June 10, leaving a tiny window to get them released and let employers and their lawyers and payroll firms determine how to deal with them.
"That's disturbing that they didn't plan it a little better," O'Connor said.
The law, passed by voters last fall, calls for employers such as O'Connor's, with more than 10 employees, to let workers earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work, up to 40 hours per calendar year. For the smallest companies, the same guaranteed sick time is required, but it can be unpaid.
Attorney General Maura Healey issued final regulations on June 19. They appear to address employers’ concerns about potential misuse of sick leave by stipulating that employees can’t accept shifts with the intention of calling out sick, and that they can’t use sick time as an excuse to be late for work. They also safeguard against workers taking time off before or after weekends or holidays as a matter of course and without explanation.
Included in the regulations is a Safe Harbor provision for employers who already offer paid time off policies; those employers have until Jan. 1, 2016 to comply with the law, as long as full-time employees have the right to earn and use at least 30 hours of paid time off in the 2015 calendar year. Part-time and temporary workers must also be allowed to accrue paid time off at the same rate, beginning July 1.
Roy Nascimento, president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, which is offering workshops to help members adjust to the new law, said many small business owners have been frustrated at the lack of clarity about the final rules.
"Employers want to do the right thing, obviously, and comply with the law, but they're having a hard time understanding how," he said.
For small firms without a human resources director, it can be particularly difficult to adjust to new rules, Nascimento said. The law means adding new bookkeeping requirements in the middle of the year and, for some, adjusting existing paid-time-off policies that address vacation, personal and sick time but that may not meet all requirements.
"It's a new mandate," he said. "It basically means more red tape for the employer."
Nascimento said some restaurants and retail establishments that traditionally encourage workers to trade shifts when necessary could see workers misusing the law.
Melissa Fetterhoff, president and CEO of the Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce, said she's hearing similar concerns from her members. At least one local business plans to get rid of paid holidays to avoid taking a loss on the new rules, she said.
Vanessa H. Costa, a principal with Advantage Benefits in Worcester, said it's not unusual among the smaller businesses the firm works with to find some that haven't provided paid sick days.
"They're going to get hit hard with a law like this," she said. "It can be a big new expense for employers."
Costa said the fact that there's been a lot of buzz around the new law makes it especially important for employers to implement it right. She said they should work with payroll firms, if they use them, to track how workers accrue time.
Regardless of the difficulty in getting all questions answered in a timely fashion, companies need to make a good-faith effort to have a compliant policy in place by July 1, according to Mary G. Duncan of Worcester CPA firm Shepherd & Goldstein LLP. She said some of the things they should think about are whether they can apply a "safe harbor" provision to paid leave rules they already have in place, how they’ll track sick leave use, and how they'll maintain records for three years and make them available to employees.
Despite all the headaches involved in creating new policies, O'Connor said he doesn't see a reason to panic. He draws a parallel to the mandate that employers offer health insurance to their workers.
"People thought the world would end when it came in, but guess what? We're still here," he said.
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