Last updated on June 13th, 2024
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker last week signed “The Grand Bargain Bill.” The compromise legislation, approved by the state’s House and Senate, will create a permanent sales tax holiday, increase the minimum wage over the next five years and create a new paid family and medical leave program in Massachusetts.
According to the Massachusetts Food Association (MFA), passage of the bill avoids having each of these proposals appear before voters as statewide ballot questions in November.
The bill will gradually raise the Commonwealth’s minimum wage from $11 to $15 per hour over five years, with an initial increase taking effect in January 2019. Coupled with that increase will be a raise to the minimum base wage rate for tipped workers, up to $6.75, that will also phase in over a five-year period commencing in January of 2019. Wage policies for Sunday and holiday pay also will be reformed and brought in line with most other states across the country.
The third major component of the Grand Bargain Bill introduces a new Paid Family and Medical Leave program for Massachusetts employers and employees. The new program will provide employees who contribute to the program the ability to take paid leave for up to 12 weeks a year to care for a family member or bond with a new child; 20 weeks a year to deal with a personal medical issue; and up to 26 weeks to deal with an emergency related to deployment of a family member for military service.
Weekly benefit amounts will be calculated as a percentage of the employee’s average weekly wage, with a maximum weekly benefit of $850. Self-employed persons may opt into the program. For the law to apply to municipal employees, the city or town involved must vote to accept participation in the program
The legislation also will create a permanent two-day weekend sales tax holiday, a provision recently proposed as part of the Baker-Polito Administration’s Economic Development Bill to provide annual tax relief for shoppers and increased sales for retailers. The new law will begin in August of 2019, and the particular weekend will be determined by the legislature.
“We thank the legislature and the governor for working out a compromise on several important issues to our industry to avoid ballot question initiatives that would have had a greater financial impact upon our industry if passed,” said Chris Flynn, MFA president, and Brian Houghton, VP, in a statement. “However, the new law passed makes unprecedented increases in costs on to businesses on the heels of a three year increase in minimum wage; dramatic health insurance assessments for the next two years; paid time off, etc. We will continue to work with all parties to make sure industry’s concerns are heard as this new law is implemented.”
“I am thankful that all parties came together, compromised and found common ground to produce a better set of policies than what the ballot questions represented,” said Governor Baker. “The Massachusetts workforce continues to grow with more and more people finding jobs, and our administration is committed to maintaining the Commonwealth’s competitive economic environment.”
“This legislation is a true balance—one that reflects the real concerns facing both working families and business owners, while continuing to grow the Massachusetts economy,” said Massachusetts Senate President Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester). “I’m pleased that Massachusetts will be one of the first states with both a $15 minimum wage and a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program. I’m just as pleased that small businesses across the Commonwealth will continue to have the resources and room they need to flourish. I’m proud of the strong collaboration among stakeholders, House and Senate members in reaching this compromise, and thank them for their efforts in coming together throughout this process.”
“Regardless of what happens in Washington D.C., this law demonstrates that in Massachusetts we can come together to create policies which benefit working families, employers and the Commonwealth as a whole,” said state Representative Paul Brodeur (D-Melrose), chairperson for the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. “While this process took months, I am proud that this law strikes the right balance in delivering improved wages and expanded benefits for millions of hard working residents while providing key protections for small businesses.”
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