(Last Updated On: March 28, 2025)
If you work in Boston or Natick, or elsewhere in Massachusetts, you may be able to take leave from your job to care for a sick parent with the promise of being able to return to work. You also may be eligible for paid job-protected leave depending on your individual circumstances. There is often a need to take time away from work as parents age and require assistance from their adult children. For many Massachusetts employees, the need to help care for an aging and ill parent can be especially difficult as you are navigating your own work hours and caring for your children who are not yet adults themselves. In complicated family situations that require extensive time away from work to care for a sick parent, you may be wondering if you are eligible to take leave from your job.
Depending on the specific details of your employment in Massachusetts, you could be eligible for job-protected leave for this purpose and potentially for paid job-protected leave. Our Natick employment law attorneys can provide you with more information and answer your questions.
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
If you have a sick parent who requires your care, and if you need to take time away from work to provide that care, you could be eligible for Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, or PFML, for up to 12 weeks (PFML can provide up to 26 weeks of leave in some circumstances). This program allows Massachusetts employees to take time away from work for medical or family reasons. To be eligible for PFML to care for a sick parent, your sick parent must have a serious health condition and you must be covered by meeting the minimum earnings requirements for leave eligibility. You must have earned at least $6,300 during the previous four calendar quarters before taking leave (this amount increases annually) and at least 30 times the amount you would be eligible to receive through PFML benefits.
Defining a “Serious Health Condition”
Massachusetts defines a serious health condition as “a physical or mental condition that prevents you from doing your job for more than three consecutive days,” and that either requires an overnight stay in a medical facility, requires two or more treatments by a health care provider within 30 days, or at least one treatment by a health care provider within 30 days with plans for continuing treatment. Temporary (but long-term), chronic, and permanent health conditions may all qualify depending on the specific facts.
How Much of My Regular Pay Will I Receive?
With PFML, you can expect to receive 80 percent of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $1,170.64 in 2025.
Can I Also Take FMLA Leave?
Many Massachusetts employees who are eligible for PFML are also eligible for unpaid job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Eligibility for FMLA is more complex than eligibility for PFML in most cases, although many Boston and Natick employees will be eligible for both. Yet while these are separate programs, and PFML does not take the place of FMLA, they run concurrently. As such, you cannot take PFML leave and then take FMLA leave afterward to extend the length of your leave.
Can I Take Leave Intermittently or Must I Take My Leave All At Once?
Leave does not have to be taken all at once. Rather, it can be taken as needed, up to the available amount within a year.
Can My Employer Penalize Me for Taking Leave?
Your employer cannot penalize you or take any kind of adverse action against you for taking PFML leave or FMLA leave in Massachusetts. Both laws protect employees against retaliation, as well as any changes in pay or benefits. Once you inform your employer that you will be taking PFML leave, you have legal protections against any form of retaliation, and you are protected against any attempts to reduce your pay, benefits, or similar. If your employer takes any adverse action against you in response to your PFML or FMLA leave, you may be eligible to file a claim.
Contact a Massachusetts Employment Law Attorney
If you have a sick parent with a serious medical condition, you may be eligible for job-protected leave, and often for paid job-protected leave in Massachusetts. Whether you have questions about determining your eligibility for leave or need assistance with a claim after taking lawful leave, an experienced Boston employment law attorney at our firm can assist you. Contact Rodman Employment Law today to learn more about the services we provide to employees in Boston and Natick.
