do employers given at maternity leave should be offered to men as well
has Massachusetts compared to on the federal level
well here to answer those questions and more in touch articles he's written on
the subject
it's Kevin Mulvey lawyer with bacon Wilson here in Springfield thank you so
much Kevin for joining me
thank you so much for having me so let's talk about this
maternity believe you for in numerous topics are numerous articles
about this topic and it seems to be a pretty big deal let's start with
the first difference how does Massachusetts differ from
the federal level which is the family
Medical Leave Act at that's right so you have a
the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act which is a state-specific live here in
Massachusetts
for employees in Massachusetts the Massachusetts maternity leave act is
really applicable
to almost everyone basically and I provides leave about
eight weeks for eight weeks for employees I'm the Family Medical Leave
Act is a federal law
that provides a difference at about timeframe for employees so it's up to
12 weeks am but the employer has to have over 50 employees within a 75-mile
radius
and even more so the employee has to have been working for the employee or
for about 1,250 hours to be
specific and I they they have to be there for sensually
heart not one calendar year but one year I in terms of
from their day employment to become eligible for family medical leave
okay now the mass Commission Against Discrimination and see
eighty is the agency that overseas that Massachusetts level up this law
talk about their enforcement %uh that on
any difference I get a different side
that they have to kinda look at so the Massachusetts Commission Against
Discrimination is you think if it almost like a at
a district attorney's office if you are there in enforcement arm
they have investigators and what really happens is that if an employee
feels as though they've been aggrieved where that an employer has not
I I given them the full amount to leave
then they can go file a complaint at the Commission Against Discrimination
that complaint initiate an investigation
the employer will need to respond and they have an entire process by which the
parties will go through
to get to the answer as to whether or not there was a discriminatory
act Dominic Grieve employees who actually prevails there
is entitled to certain types of damages including
back pay a so wages that they lost because they got terminated because they
are pregnant or something on those lines
front page if they can show that they would have
farm continue to work there for a period of time possum Marshall distress damages
which
really becomes a a turning point in the case
it is an emotional time and so there's a lot that the employees worrying about
and quite frankly I in addition to that now have to worry about their employer
may be terminating them
so with it it really can be a large sum
for motion the stress that up by the other side of the coin which you're
familiar with
as well you've argued for and against a tough but the employer side
if they were perhaps looking at firing somebody based on work performance but
then
their take announced km having a baby
that sometimes can be a very a quick position for them to be in
yes so I mean in general one of the most difficult questions to ask is when
the employers saying they're looking at the employees going well the performance
is really deteriorated over time
we really need to think about letting this person go simultaneously the woman
comes in and says
I'm pregnant and due in for months or so I
now that person is quite frankly could be protected under the Massachusetts
Maternity Leave Act
and the employer really needs to tread carefully and how they handle this
now if they have the appropriate documentation
and their personnel file was followed warnings and things of that nature
them possibly they can't let that employees go
I wouldn't necessarily recommend it I'm under the circumstances I think it
becomes a very difficult situation
for all parties involved and I and they should probably consult with counsel as
to what to do next
now the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and CAD
doesn't have specific language in the
on it's not as it gender specific it's not gender neutral
so it doesn't have that effected a same-sex couple that perhaps want to
take
maternity leave as well so the the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act under
Massachusetts state law
is a is it is gender-specific and so
thats becomes difficult in terms of enforcement
by I in the current climate it doesn't make any sense and so
I'm under the impression from what I've seen the MCAD will enforce
the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act equally for
males and females to ensure their paternity leave for maternity leave
is granted especially if a same sex male couple
adopts a child I'm in that instance then
the statute provides for child adoption if it were a woman adopting a child
so are the same should hold true for male partners as well
now at the question on Facebook and do employers given up maternity leave
should be offered two minutes well
most people said no employers don't give enough material even yes it should be
offered
two men as well but some people said the opposite
do you see that often where people have differing opinions on
maternity leave Yan'an I think that that comes down to a variety of different
factors first and foremost your employer
is going out make whatever me leave policy that they want attorney or
maternity
so long is that it meets the requirement have the Massachusetts Maternity Leave
Act
if they wanna grab more time then certainly they're gonna do it
I found in my practice though that one person the caregiver state stays at home
with the child during those
really tender months and on the other hand the other person's gotta go out
and make money so not both parents are gonna take advantage
have what may be available to them under the law
so it really depends on the situation not only
work related but also what's going on with the child as well
but involved situation and maybe the Family Medical Leave Act applies
maybe the employees gonna just take an outright leave of absence or something
along those lines
I can all be with making often the key so much thank you so much for having