In 2018, Massachusetts passed a landmark bill requiring all employers in the state to provide workers with paid family and medical leave (PFML), giving Massachusetts one of the most generous paid family and medical leave programs in the country. At the time of the legislature, the state outlined a three-year approach, with deadlines for employer and employee contributions into the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund, through which the program will be funded.
Many employers have been forced to implement some form of workforce reduction in order to continue operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. While furloughs and layoffs have a significant and immediate impact on a company’s operations, plan sponsors also need to understand the longer-term effects that workforce reductions may have on participants’ benefits and retirement accounts.
