Legislation that would grant additional paid sick leave to employees during the COVID-19 outbreak is moving on Beacon Hill after securing the approval of a key panel.
The Labor and Workforce Development Committee voted to advance a bill that would offer two work weeks of state-covered paid sick time to Massachusetts workers who do not qualify for federal emergency paid leave during the pandemic.
Under the committee version of the legislation, employees can take the COVID-related sick leave to self-isolate after contracting the virus or displaying symptoms, to recuperate from the illness, or to care for an affected family member.
Employees who work 40 hours per week would qualify for 80 hours of paid leave, while those who work fewer than 40 hours in a week could receive as much time off as they would normally work in a 14-day period.
The bill, a redraft of legislation filed by Rep. Paul Donato and Sen. Jason Lewis (H 4700 / S 2701), establishes a $55 million fund to help businesses cover the costs of the emergency sick time, and employers must keep jobs secure when employees take the leave. Benefits would reach up to $850 per week.
Private plane delivers PPE supplies for Veterans Affairs
A plane this weekend delivered 450,000 protective gowns, which will be shipped to Veterans Affairs medical facilities throughout the country.
This is the eighth flight secured by the state of New Hampshire, with the help of inventor and Segway founder Dean Kamen and others, to have landed at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport carrying personal protective equipment. The earlier equipment has since been distributed to the areas of greatest need across the state and country. The VA will reimburse the state for the gowns.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Gov. Chris Sununu were on hand for the plane’s arrival.
Free testing site in Roxbury
A free, no-appointment-or-referral-necessary testing clinic is going to be held Monday in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury.
The tests at the Prince Hall Grand Lodge are part of a Boston-wide effort to provide stepped up testing and contact tracing to contain the spread of the virus.
Organizers say that as Boston reopens and college students return to campuses, these efforts are vital to health.
