On June 28, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday” (HB 4640) into law. Last week, we covered three major changes the Act makes to Massachusetts law that employers should be aware of (available here). In short, the Act incrementally increases minimum wage for regular and tipped employees, gradually eliminates premium Sunday and holiday pay for retail workers, and institutes a paid family and medical leave program.

The Act, touted as a “grand bargain,” was designed, at least in part, as a bipartisan compromise to avoid comparable ballot questions this coming November. As a result, the legislation differs from the proposed ballot initiatives in several ways. Most notably, the ballot initiative did not contain a proposal to either decrease or eliminate premium Sunday and holiday pay for retail workers, as does the new law. There are also notable differences regarding the proposed minimum wage and paid leave proposals on the ballot initiatives, as compared to the new legislation:

Regular Minimum Wage

  • Ballot Initiative
    • Incremental increases from $11.00 per hour to $15.00 per hour from 2019 to 2022 ($1.00 per year)
    • Annual increases adjusted for inflation after 2022
  • HB 4640
    • Incremental increase from $11.00 to $15.00 per hour from 2019 to 2023 (between $0.25 per year and $1.00 per year)
    • No adjustments for inflation

Tipped Minimum Wage

  • Ballot Initiative
    • Incremental increases from $3.75 per hour to $9.00 per hour from 2019 to 2022 ($1.30 per year)
    • Annual increases adjusted for inflation after 2022
  • HB 4640
    • Incremental increases from $3.75 per hour to $6.75 per hour from 2019 to 2023 ($0.60 per year)
    • No adjustments for inflation

Paid Family and Medical Leave

  • Ballot Initiative
    • Effective January 1, 2019
    • 16 weeks of paid family leave
    • 26 weeks of paid medical leave
    • 26 week maximum of combined paid family and medical leave per benefit year
    • Weekly wages of 90% of the employee’s regular wage, up to a maximum of $1,000.00 per week
  • HB 4640
    • Effective January 1, 2021
    • 12 weeks of paid family leave
    • 20 weeks of paid medical leave
    • 26 week maximum of paid family and medical leave per benefit year
    • Weekly wages calculated based off a percentage of the state average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $850.00 per week

As January 1, 2019 approaches, the first effective date for the new legislation, we encourage employers to consult with counsel to prepare and ensure compliance. Proskauer will continue to provide updates and guidance as the staggered effective dates for the legislation’s various provisions approach.

 

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Photo of Mark W. Batten Mark W. Batten

Mark W. Batten is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group.

Mark represents employers nationwide at all stages of complex employment litigation, including class and collective actions on wage and hour matters…

Mark W. Batten is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group.

Mark represents employers nationwide at all stages of complex employment litigation, including class and collective actions on wage and hour matters and discrimination claims. Ranked by Chambers USA, Mark is hailed as “a fabulous lawyer, handling interesting and complex cases.” Clients “highly recommend him to anyone seeking litigation counsel in the Boston area,” as well as note “he is responsive, pragmatic and team-oriented, and offers excellent legal advice.”

He assists clients with all aspects of employment policies and practices, including hiring, termination, leaves, accommodation of disabilities, and other matters. Mark also handles diverse civil litigation, including litigation of noncompetition agreements, ERISA matters, discrimination and wrongful termination litigation in federal and state courts; proceedings before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination; wage and hour matters; and labor arbitrations. He is also an experienced appellate attorney both in employment cases and other civil litigation, handling appeals at all levels in the state courts and in the United States Courts of Appeals.

Mark also has substantial experience with traditional labor matters. He regularly represents employers in a variety of industries, including a number of newspaper and media companies, in collective bargaining, practice before the NLRB, labor arbitrations, union organizing campaigns, and day-to-day advice on administration of collective bargaining agreements. He regularly advises clients in both union and non-union settings on diligence matters in corporate acquisitions and financings. He also has experience on behalf of securities firms in arbitrations before the NASD and NYSE of customer and employee complaints.

Mark also practices on behalf of newspapers and other media in newsroom litigation, including libel defense and representation of reporters under subpoena, and has substantial experience in litigation involving access to sealed records and judicial proceedings on behalf of media companies.

Before joining Proskauer, Mark was a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, where he was lead counsel in major litigation for over two dozen federal agencies, ranging from the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, and the U.S. Secret Service to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mark regularly writes and lectures on employment-related matters, including, for instance, MCLE’s Representing Clients Before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

In his spare time, Mark is an experienced computer programmer, conversant in C, C++, and other languages. He has ported software between computer operating systems and has published several commercial computer games.