Massachusetts PFML Advocacy Guide

Greater Boston Legal Services

David McKenna

Stephanie Herron Rice

Jason Salgado

2025 Edition

This guide is intended to help Massachusetts advocates navigate PFML benefits based on current DFML practices. Nothing in this guide is an endorsement of current agency practices.

Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) is the primary provider of basic civil legal assistance to approximately one-third of the state’s low-income individuals. Its service area includes 32 cities and towns that constitute all of Suffolk and a significant portion of Middlesex, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties. The program’s mission is to provide high-quality legal assistance in a wide range of poverty law matters including housing, elder, and family, welfare, health, disability, consumer, immigration and employment law. In addition, GBLS provides services in immigration cases on a statewide basis. GBLS’s Employment Law Unit (ELU) represents clients in unemployment insurance appeals, wage-and-hour claims, Paid Family and Medical Leave matters, and tax controversies, as well as clients who have criminal records or other barriers to gaining jobs and job-related benefits. The ELU also represents individual and community-based organizations in systemic policy campaigns concerning UI, wages, and work-connected benefits such as earned sick time and Paid Family and Medical Leave and includes a focus on individuals in the Asian community.

For advice on navigating PFML benefits, contact the ELU:

David McKenna
DMcKenna@gbls.org

Stephanie Herron Rice
Sherronrice@gbls.org

Jason Salgado
JSalgado@gbls.org

Download the guide as a PDF

Online version of the guide with live links