Daily News

Skoler, Abbott & Presser Presents Briefing on Sick Leave Law May 13

BOYLSTON — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a leading labor and employment-law firm serving the Greater Springfield area, announced that Partner Kimberly Klimczuk will present a briefing focusing on the Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave Law on Wednesday, May 13 at the Cyprian Keyes Golf Club, 284 East Temple St., Boylston.

The program, from 9 to 11 a.m., will highlight the Massachusetts attorney general’s regulations implementing the Earned Sick Leave Law that goes into effect July 1 and how the law and the accompanying regulations will affect businesses. The program is sponsored by CMEA the Employers Assoc., a nonprofit organization established to help employers promote positive employer/employee relations.

The Earned Sick Leave Law, which entitles employees to earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time each year if they work for businesses with 11 or more employees, appeared on the November 2014 election ballot and was passed by voters. Businesses with fewer than 11 employees must still provide up to 40 hours of annual sick leave, but it can be unpaid leave.

“The proposed regulations issued by the attorney general’s office address a number of key issues regarding when and how employees may accrue and use sick leave under the law,” said Klimczuk. “Massachusetts is only the third state to pass this kind of law, and it is the most onerous in the country. It is critically important for employers to know what they are legally responsible for before it goes into effect in July.”

Registration and continental breakfast will begin at 8:45 a.m. The cost to attend is $45 for CMEA members, $60 for non-members. The program is approved for two general recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute. For information about certification or recertification, visit hrci.org.

Klimczuk joined Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. in 2004 and concentrates her practice on labor law and employment litigation. She became a partner with the firm in 2011. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received her juris doctor from Duke University School of Law. Her experience includes negotiating collective-bargaining agreements and advising on contract interpretation, and successfully defending clients in state and federal court and before administrative agencies in a variety of areas of employment law, including wage/hour law, discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, and workers’ compensation claims. In addition, she has assisted employers in compliance matters involving the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and drafted numerous affirmative action plans for them. She is a frequent speaker for a wide variety of associations and organizations.