Absence and Leave Policies

The federal law, Family and Medical Leave Act (known as FMLA), provides up to 12 unpaid weeks of job-protected leave per year for employees in certain situations.

The Commonwealth offers its Executive Department employees more generous FMLA benefits with leave up to 26 weeks per year for certain reasons, plus some employees may access a once-in-a lifetime additional 26 weeks of catastrophic FMLA leave. We also follow the state parental leave law.

See separate Family and Medical Leave Options guide for more details.

PFML is a Massachusetts program that provides eligible state employees job protection and temporary income replacement during certain family and medical leaves. 

When you need leave, your first step is to contact the Office of Leave Planning Assistance (OLPA). Their team of experts guides Massachusetts employees through the leave process, reviews leave requests, and makes decisions regarding those requests. Learn the process and how to reach OLPA at mass.gov/OLPA.

See separate Family and Medical Leave Options guide for more details.

All Commonwealth HR professionals have a role in leave administration.

Agency Leave Liaisons within the Executive Department have access to a suite of leave-related resources. If you are an agency Leave Liaison and need additional information on administering leave at the Commonwealth, please contact the Office of Leave Planning Assistance at mass.gov/OLPAContact.

• Employees on a biweekly basis (totaling 15 days/year) will continue to accrue sick leave each year until the state service ends. 
• You can use sick hours for your own illness or for the illness of certain family members. See the maximum amount of hours allowed (usually 30 per calendar year) in the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and Red Book. 
• Contract employees and intermittent employees who are not covered by the CBAs or Red Book will receive some limited leave time for every 30 minutes they work per the Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave Law. 
• Your agency may request medical documentation when they suspect sick leave abuse, a pattern of absences, or absences that indicate you have protection under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• When you leave state service, you cannot cash out any sick leave. Your sick leave days/hours will remain on your employee account as long as you return to state service within 3 years.
• Executive Department employees who retire can cash out 20% of their accrued sick leave.

Massachusetts Attorney General's website on Earned Sick Time Law

EILB mid-year enrollment is now closed.  The EILB is a statewide bank created by the Human Resources Division that helps Executive Branch employees who suffered an extended injury or illness to recover a portion of their salary that they may have lost due to extended unpaid leaves of absence. It was created in 1995 Chapter 7, Section 4P, MGL and is also covered by EILB regulations.

An Executive Branch employee who has worked for at least 12 months and has had acceptable attendance may donate a day of leave (sick, vacation, or personal) to a statewide "bank" every calendar year. Members may apply to "withdraw" time from the bank if they meet the requirements of the EILB regulations. Members may not withdraw more than 120 work days in any two-year period.

• EILB Enrollment Form (eForm)
• EILB Regulations
• Withdrawal Application for Extended Illness Leave Bank
• Medical Certification for EILB Withdrawal
• EILB FAQs for Employees
• Extended Illness Annual Enrollment Paper Form 2025 - Mid Year
• EILB Coordinator List

HRD (Human Resources Division) publishes a schedule memo for Executive Department employees. There are special instructions in the memo which says what happens when a holiday falls on a weekend. 

• Holiday memo for state employees (specific dates for 2025 and 2026)
• Red Book for Managers and Confidential Employees (Section 11.0)
• Collective Bargaining Agreements (Article 10.0)

Three Personal Days** are granted each calendar year

• Personal Days do not carry over from year to year. 
• Each year in September, employees are notified of how many personal days they need to use by the last pay period. 
• Employments who leave the agency are not compensated for unused personal days.

** Some longer-term bargaining unit employees receive 5 personal days per calendar year per the union contract

• Update: Use or Lose Carryover Caps 
• Employees start earning vacation time after two weeks of employment.
• Time off the payroll will result in reduced vacation accruals.
• Unused vacation leave earned during the previous two years can be carried over to the new calendar year beginning with the first full pay period in January.  Annual earned vacation leave credit not used by the last full pay period inclusive of December 31st of the second year it was earned will be forfeited
• Each September employees are notified if they have any "use or lose" vacation time
• Employees who leave employment are paid for  unused accrued vacation hours per state law.

Vacation Accrual  (Annual)

• Vacation advances for newly hired managers and confidential employees (Section 2.14)
• Policy on vacation granted to employees transferring from other government agencies

With prior supervised approval, state employees may donate blood up to 5 times a year during their work shift between October 1 and September 30. We cover travel to and from the blood collections site and the time spent donating and recovering under medical supervision. The maximum number of paid hours per donation is four hours, although it usually takes much less than that to donate. 

Did you know a single blood donation can save up to three lives? Give the gift of life by reading eligibility requirements on the Red Cross links below and donate at the blood collection site of your choice. 

• Blood Donation Leave Policy
• Blood Donation Verification Form

External Resources

• American Red Cross Blood Donation Facts
• List of Blood Donation Centers

Executive Department employees may take up to 5 paid days (not charged to personal, vacation, or sick time) to donate bone marrow and recover from the donation. See the link below for the detailed policy. 

• Memo on Organ and Bone Marrow Donation

Executive Department employees may take up to 30 paid work days per calendar year (not charged to  personal, vacation, or sick time) to donate an organ including preparation and recovery time. 

• Law on Organ Donation Leave

External Resources

• Learn more about becoming a Live Organ Donor

• Employees receive full regular pay when on jury duty for both state and federal courts. If the jury fee you receive exceeds the regular rate of compensation, you must turn over the regular pay to your agency but may keep any amount that exceeds your regular pay.
• Red Book for Managers and Confidential Employees (Section 7.0)
• Collective Bargaining Agreement (Article 8.5)

External Resources

• Compensation and reimbursement for state jurors
• Massachusetts Jury Duty System website
• U.S. Federal District Court Jury Duty website

If an Executive Department employee cannot vote in a town, city, state, or national election due to a work schedule, they may ask their agency for advance written approval to use up to two paid hours (not including personal, vacation, or sick time) to vote. 

• Collective Bargaining Agreements (Article 8.4)
• Red Book for Managers and Confidential Employees (Section 7.0)

Managers and Confidential Employees who appear as a witness for a government agency in a court case will receive their regular pay. If they receive any witness fees, they must return the fees to their agency. 

• Red Book for Managers and Confidential Employees (Section 7.03)

Executive Department employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, may qualify for paid or unpaid leave including the following benefits. 

• 15 paid days per calendar year (not charged to sick, vacation, or personal leave) to seek counseling, get medical treatment, attend legal proceedings, etc. from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• 6 months of unpaid leave with the right to return to work with the same position, benefit, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. 

Protecting your Personal Information from being released

Employees who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, or adjudicated crimes (crimes that have been resolved through the courts system after an arrest has been made) may apply to have their personal information excluded from public records for their safety and protection.

Employees apply for coverage through a Payroll Public Exemption Form and depending on the circumstances, may need to provide documentation to their agency which will be protected. 

• Zero Tolerance Policy for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault or Stalking
• Executive Order – Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
• Payroll Public Exemption Policy
• Payroll Public Exemption Form

External Resources

• For assistance: Jane Doe Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

Executive Department employees may receive up to 15 paid days per calendar year if called by the American Red Cross to serve as a certified disaster volunteer to respond to any emergency in the world.

• Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Policy
• State law allowing Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Leave

External Resources

• American Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Services website

The State Employees Responding as Volunteers (SERV) Program is an employee benefit available to eligible employees in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Branch who have at least six months of state service. With supervisor approval, an employee may volunteer during regular work schedule up to one day per month at an approved Massachusetts non-profit organization (7.5 or 8 hours/month; pro-rated for part-time employees).

National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) 

State employees may qualify for unpaid leave time to volunteer on a national Disaster Medical Assistance (DMAT) as trained medical and paramedic professionals. To qualify as a member of DMAT, you must be trained and ready to deploy within 24 hours of notification service is needed for an emergency. 

There is no paid leave time to be a volunteer as these volunteers receive compensation from the federal government as a special employee. However, state employees may use vacation or personal time to volunteer. 

Although this volunteering is NOT considered military service and thus does not qualify for military pay, employees who do this volunteer work have some protection for their job and health. Employees who are volunteering in this role are covered by USERRA (which requires job reinstatement upon returning from leave). See  the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services federal government site for more information.

Executive Department employees may qualify for paid leave time to attend a funeral of certain family members.

• Upon the passing of an eligible family member, Executive department employees may qualify for 1 to 7 paid work days for mourning and attending services. These days are separate from vacation, personal, and sick days.
• Employees should refer to their collective bargaining agreement (union contract) or Red Book for details on eligible family members, associated length of leave, and documentation requirements (if any)
• Managers and Confidential Employees who are Veterans may receive paid leave to participate in funerals for other veterans when serving as a member of a firing squad, color detail, pallbearer, bugler or escort.
  
   

State agencies designate each employee as either "Emergency Personnel" or "Non-Emergency Personnel." 

In case of inclement weather or another emergency,  Emergency Personnel will be required to report to their assigned work site as scheduled,due to the critical nature of their job functions. Emergency Personnel are generally charged with the care and custody of patients and/or prisoners or are responsible for the delivery of other critically important public services. Titles include State Trooper, Mental Health Worker, Developmental Disabilities Worker, and Correction Officer, among others.

Non-Emergency Personnel scheduled to work the day of an emergency but directed to not report to work or those impacted by a late start of early departure, will receive regular pay (i.e. weather leave  or "WEA" on timesheet) for their lost work hours.  This time will not be charged to personal, vacation, or sick time

Executive Department employees are entitled to take unpaid time to attend meetings related to their child's education, routine and medical appointments for their child or elderly relative, or for meetings about elder care.

• Employees may have the right to take up to 24 unpaid hours every 12 months for these purposes.
• Employees may choose to use available leave time such as personal, vacation, or sick time, if the reasons for the Small Necessities Leave falls under one of these categories.
• Employees should notify their state agency 7 calendar days in advance of the requested leave time. If it isn't feasible for employees to provide this amount of notice, they should notify their agency soon as possible.

• Small Necessities Leave Act (state law)