Massachusetts Parental Leave

Automatic: System handles this automatically, no action needed

Manual Action or Tracking Required: User must complete this action or track elsewhere

Configuration Note: How the policy is set up in the platform

Best Practice: AbsenceSoft recommendation for optimal management

Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft's policy applies to all Massachusetts employees at employers with 6 or more active employees by default.

Manual Action Required: Manually override eligibility for employees of excluded employers.

Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft's policy is configured to apply to employees with 3 months of service. Employers send over months of service on the Eligibility record and may include employee breaks in service.

Manual Action Required:

• Consecutive months of service configuration is not an option in Absencesoft. Manually override eligibility for employees who may not have 3 consecutive months of service after reviewing hire and re-hire dates.

• Lesser probationary periods may require overrides or the employer may opt to change the eligibility criteria to mirror their employer policies.

Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft's policy is configured to apply to employees with Work State = Massachusetts.

Configuration Note: Child over age 18 with impairment relationship is configured to accommodate leave for Adoption/Foster Care when the child is over age 18 but under 23 and is mentally or physically disabled.

Manual Action Required: Child over the age of 18 with impairment configuration does not confirm if the child is an adopted child. Employers will need to ensure the employee has adopted a child rather than fostering a child to ensure eligibility doesn’t need overriding when child is over age 18 with impairment is selected.

Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft calculates 8-weeks of entitlement per case for all qualifying absence reasons.

Manual Action Required: Leave managers must track total entitlement used across all cases tied to the same qualifying event and ensure the employee does not exceed their total statutory entitlement.

Configuration Note: AbsenceSoft's multiplier rules are configured to handle up to 6 children. The 6-child rule applies to any case where 6 or more children are involved, capping the automatic calculation at 48 work weeks.

Manual Action Required: If more than 6 children are involved in a single leave event, the platform will calculate 48 work weeks automatically. Leave managers must manually override exhaustion to reflect the correct entitlement amount (8 work weeks per child beyond 6).

Manual Action or Tracking Required: The law indicates an employer who has two employees taking leave for the same reason can only take 8 weeks (or more depending on multiplier rule) in aggregate. AbsenceSoft does not have logic to enforce this restriction across multiple employee cases. Employers must track and enforce this limitation manually.

Automatic: AbsenceSoft automatically ends the policy 12 months from the qualifying event date using the Policy Event rule configured on each absence reason.

Manual Action or Tracking Required: If the employee starts leave prior to the delivery or adoption placement date, the policy must manually be tracked to end based on the first day of leave, rather than the event date configured.

Best Practice: Employers should consult internally on the best approach for their organization on how to configure.

• Employers can opt to either change the MA-MATERN policy configuration entitlement or create new a custom policy to support their needs.

• Communication templates may need to outline the employer policy job-protection nuances as needed based on the employer’s processes and policies.

Manual Action Required: When Parental Leave is applied to both a Pregnancy/Maternity case and a separate Bonding case for the same qualifying event, leave managers must track total Parental Leave usage across both cases and follow the state's determination to prevent overentitlement. The combined Parental Leave usage for both cases should not exceed the employee's total statutory entitlement for the qualifying event.

Best Practice: Document the total Parental Leave entitlement available and the amount used on each case in the case notes. This makes it easier to track usage across both the Pregnancy/Maternity and Bonding cases tied to the same qualifying event.