154 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2025 ed. © 2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP the computation of the bonus as long as the employer takes the same approach with other employees who are on a leave of absence for other reasons.930 In addition to employer requirements under MPLA, MPFML, and FMLA, an employer may be required to grant additional leave to an employee as an accommodation for pregnancy or conditions relating to pregnancy, if such leave is reasonable and would not impose an undue burden on the employer.931 E. Small Necessities Leave Act The Massachusetts Small Necessities Leave Act (SNLA) applies to employers that are subject to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)932 and allows FMLA-eligible employees933 to take twenty-four additional hours of leave during a twelve-month period. Leave under the SNLA may be taken for any of the following purposes: To “participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a [child] of the employee, such as parent-teacher conferences or interviewing for a new school” To “accompany [a child] of the employee to routine medical or dental appointments, such as check-ups or vaccinations” To “accompany an elderly relative of the employee to routine medical or dental appointments or appointments for other professional services related to the elder’s care, such as interviewing at nursing or group homes”934 The provisions of the SNLA closely track those of the FMLA. For instance, under both statutes, the employer must clearly define the twelve-month period in which the twenty-four hours of leave may be taken. The Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General has issued an advisory stating 930 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 105D(d); see also MPLA Guidelines, at 11-12. This is different from the FMLA regulations, which permit an employer to deny or prorate the bonus of an employee who has taken FMLA leave during the bonus period if the bonus is (1) based on easily measurable tasks (e.g., perfect attendance or number of products sold), and (2) other employees taking other kinds of leave also have their bonuses denied or prorated if they fail to meet their goals because of the leave. 29 C.F.R. § 825.215(c)(2). 931 M.G.L. ch. 151B, § 4(1E). 932 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654. Under the FMLA, qualified employers must provide leave for illness and other absences. Specifically, the FMLA mandates that employers with fifty or more employees within a seventy-five mile radius provide eligible employees with up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for the birth and care of a newborn child; the adoption of a child; the care of a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition; the employee’s own serious health condition; a qualifying exigency arising from certain family members’ call to military active duty; or up to twenty-six weeks of unpaid leave to care for certain family members injured in military service. Because of the complexity of the FMLA and this publication’s focus on Massachusetts law, the FMLA will not be addressed in depth. Employers should also be aware that leave in excess of that provided by the FMLA and Massachusetts law may be a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B. 933 An “eligible employee” is defined as “an employee who has been employed (i) for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested . . . ; and (ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12month period.” 29 U.S.C. § 2611(2)(A). 934 M.G.L. ch. 149, § 52D(b).
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