§ 4 — Notice

Section 4. (a) Each employer and covered business entity shall post in a conspicuous place on each of its premises a workplace notice prepared or approved by the department providing notice of benefits available under this chapter. The workplace notice shall be issued in English, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Khmer, Russian and any other language that is the primary language of at least 10,000 or 1/2 of one per cent of all residents of the commonwealth. The required workplace notice shall be in English and each language other than English which is the primary language of 5 or more employees or self-employed individuals of that workplace, if such notice is available from the department.Each employer shall issue to each employee not more than 30 days from the beginning date of the employee's employment, the following written information provided or approved by the department in the employee's primary language: (i) an explanation of the availability of family and medical leave benefits provided under this chapter, including rights to reinstatement and continuation of health insurance; (ii) the employee's contribution amount and obligations under this chapter; (iii) the employer's contribution amount and obligations under this chapter; (iv) the name and mailing address of the employer; (v) the identification number assigned to the employer by the department; (vi) instructions on how to file a claim for family and medical leave benefits; (vii) the mailing address, email address and telephone number of the department; and (viii) any other information deemed necessary by the department. Delivery is made when an employee provides written acknowledgement of receipt of the information, or signs a statement indicating the employee's refusal to sign such acknowledgement.Each covered business entity shall provide to each self-employed individual with whom it contracts, at the time such contract is made, the following written information provided or approved by the department in the self-employed individual's primary language: (i) an explanation of the availability of family and medical leave benefits provided under this chapter and the procedures established by the department for self-employed individuals to become covered individuals; (ii) the self-employed individual's contribution amount and obligations under this chapter if the self-employed individual were to become a covered individual; (iii) the covered business entity's contribution amount and obligations under this chapter; (iv) the name, mailing address and email address of the covered business entity; (v) the identification number assigned to the covered business entity by the department; (vi) instructions on how to file a claim for family and medical leave benefits; (vii) the address and telephone number of the department; and (viii) any other information deemed necessary by the department. Delivery is made when a self-employed individual provides written acknowledgement of receipt of the information, or signs a statement indicating the self-employed individual's refusal to sign such acknowledgement.An employer or covered business entity that fails to comply with this subsection shall be issued, for a first violation, a civil penalty of $50 per employee and per self-employed individual with whom it has contracted, and for each subsequent violation, a civil penalty of $300 per employee or self-employed individual with whom it has contracted. The employer or covered business entity shall have the burden of demonstrating compliance with this subsection.(b) An employee shall give not less than 30 days' notice to the employer of the anticipated starting date of the leave, the anticipated length of the leave and the expected date of return or shall provide notice as soon as practicable if the delay is for reasons beyond the employee's control. If an employer fails to provide notice of this chapter as required under subsection (a), the employee's notice requirement shall be waived.