13. Report employer failure to notify

Employers have to give a written notice of PFML rights within 30 days of hiring the worker. One common reason for workers to not apply for PFML, or delay taking time off, or not tell the employer about their leave is that the employer failed to tell the worker about PFML rights. This is very common with non-birthing parents who get one or two weeks of vacation for the birth of a child, then go back to work because they don’t know they have a right to more time off. 

You can report an employer for failing to provide notice of PFML rights at this link: https://www.mass.gov/forms/report-employer-pfml-notification-failure. The employer will have to prove that workers signed an acknowledgement of PFML rights, or else pay a fine to the state.  If an employer fails to notify the worker in writing of PFML rights, within 30 days of hire, with a signed acknowledgement, and including instructions to apply and the employer EIN, then the worker has no obligation to notify the employer of the need for PFML time off work, or to give 30 days notice. G.L. c. 175M, § 4(b). This is an important argument when the employer seeks to undermine PFML rights by saying the worker failed to give proper notice.