AIM looks to reform employment laws to ease compliance, lower costs, and limit legal exposure.
Massachusetts employment laws overwhelmingly disadvantage the employer. AIM seeks to rebalance the scales of the state’s employment code with common sense reforms.
State-mandated employment law benefits are a significant cost driver for Massachusetts companies. The Commonwealth has some of the most generous unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and paid family and medical leave benefits in the country. AIM works to lower the costs of these programs and to ease compliance for our member companies.
Policy Priorities
Response to Reuter v. City of Methuen
AIM sponsored legislation to counter the Reuter decision under which employers are liable for treble (3x) damages for late payment of any disputed wages to dismissed employees. The bill would create a good-faith defense against treble damages and a “right-to-cure” period that would allow employers time to compensate outgoing employees without facing significant penalties.
Pay Transparency
AIM was proud to partner with advocacy organizations to promote the next step in pay transparency. Employers will be required to provide the salary range for a position to applicants and large employers will be required to submit limited, confidential wage data to the state. In exchange, AIM secured limited liability exposure in the new law.
Unemployment Insurance
The Massachusetts unemployment insurance system is projected to become bankrupt by 2028 due to structural instability. AIM supports common-sense reforms that will eliminate outliers on the benefit side to stabilize the system and reduce employer costs.
Update the Independent Contractor Law
This legislation would change the Massachusetts test for employees versus independent contractors to allow flexibility that is reflective of the modern working environment.
Paid Family and Medical Leave Anti-Retaliation
Under the current PMFL statute, any adverse action taken by an employer against an employee who took a PFML leave within 6 months is presumed retaliatory. AIM is pursuing changes that would shorten the timeline and eliminate the presumption.
Wage Theft
AIM strongly opposes a proposal to create vicarious liability for wage violations up and down the contract chain. Under the proposal when a sub-contractor or sub-sub-contractor commits any wage violation, anyone involved would also be liable for those damages, including treble damages.
Workplace Bullying
AIM opposes a proposal that creates employer liability for bullying and similar activity that occurs between coworkers. The measure would cover a wide spectrum of behavior, regardless of whether or not the victim is a member of a protected class, or whether or not the incident occurred at work.