2014 Massachusetts Question 4

The Massachusetts Paid Sick Days Initiative was a successful initiative voted on in the Massachusetts general election held on November 4, 2014. It was one of four 2014 ballot measures put to public vote.

Question 4

Massachusetts Paid Sick Days Initiative
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 1,256,841 59.38% No 859,621 40.62% Valid votes 2,116,462 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 2,116,462 100.00%
County results Municipality results Precinct results Yes   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% No   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% Other   Tie

Voting

Question 4 on the ballot, "Earned Sick Time for Employees".^[1]

A YES VOTE on the question would allow workers to earn and use a set amount of paid or unpaid sick time per year based on specific conditions, such as the size of their companies.^[2]

A NO VOTE maintains current laws.^[2]

Response	Votes	%
Yes	1,256,841	57%
No	859,621	39%
blank	70,329	4%

Source: ^[1]

Implementation

The law went into effect on July 1, 2015,^[3] with approximately 200 clarifications and adjustments made by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office.^[4] The law requires that companies with 11 or more employees give workers up to 40 hours of paid sick time a year, while smaller companies may offer it unpaid.^[4]

References

1. "Statewide Ballot Questions — Statistics by Year: 2014". sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
2. Stephanie, Vallejo (November 2, 2014). "2014 Massachusetts ballot questions: Your cheat sheet". The Boston Globe. p. R.9. Retrieved March 10, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
3. Johnston, Katie (June 15, 2015). "Firms struggle with sick time rules". The Boston Globe. p. A.1. Retrieved March 11, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.
4. Johnston, Katie (June 20, 2015). "Wrinkles in sick-time law ironed out". The Boston Globe. p. B.5. Retrieved March 11, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.

Further reading

• "Parsing the referendum questions". The Boston Globe. November 4, 2014. p. A.12. Retrieved March 10, 2018 – via pqarchiver.com.

External links

• 2014 Ballot Questions at sec.state.ma.us
• Question 4 text via masslive.com