Employee Job Protection, Prohibition on Retaliation, Maintenance of Health Insurance

(1) Job Protection. An employee who has taken family or medical leave under M.G.L. c. 175M shall on returning to employment at the close of a period of approved family or medical leave be restored to the employee's previous position or to an equivalent position with the same status, pay, employment benefits, length-of-service credit and seniority as of the date of leave. An employer shall not be required to restore an employee who has taken family or medical leave under M.G.L. c. 175M to the previous or to an equivalent position if other employees of equal length of service credit and status in the same or equivalent positions have been laid off due to economic conditions or other changes in operating conditions affecting employment during the period of leave; provided, however, that the employee who has taken leave shall retain any preferential consideration for another position to which the employee was entitled as of the date of leave. Nor shall an employer be required to restore an employee who was hired for a specific term or only to perform work on a discrete project, if the employment term or project is over and the employer would not otherwise have continued to employ the employee. Upon reinstatement, taking family or medical leave under M.G.L. c. 175M shall not affect an employee's previously held right to accrue vacation time, sick leave, bonuses, advancement, seniority, length-of-service credit or other employment benefits, plans or programs. Leave periods under M.G.L. c. 175M need not be treated as credited service for purposes of benefit accrual, vesting and eligibility to participate. (2) Maintenance of Health Insurance. During the duration of an employee's family or medical leave, the employer shall continue to provide for, contribute to, or otherwise maintain the employee's employment-related health insurance benefits, if any, at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued working continuously for the duration of such leave. The provision “otherwise maintain” shall be interpreted broadly to encompass any method of benefit maintenance or approximation of benefits that permits an employee taking family or medical leave to maintain access to health coverage for the duration of the leave on the same or equivalent terms, including the employee’s costs for such coverage, such as premium contributions, co-pays, and deductibles. Employers may “otherwise maintain” coverage in a variety of ways to comply with this provision including, but not limited to, the following examples: