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Bill

H 5557

An Act amending the sick leave bank for Matthew McRae, an employee of the department of state police

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Margaret Scarsdale

Creates a dedicated sick leave bank for Matthew McRae, allowing voluntary contributions and enabling him to draw from it without first exhausting accrued leave.

Senate concurred
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Bill Summary · H 5557

What the bill does

  • Bill: H 5557 (Massachusetts, 194th General Court)
  • Purpose: To amend the sick leave strategy for Matthew McRae, an employee of the Department of State Police (DSP), by establishing and governing a dedicated sick leave bank for him and aligning related employment benefits and transitions.

Main purpose and intent

  • Create a dedicated sick leave bank for Matthew McRae within the DSP.
  • Allow voluntary contributions of sick, personal, or vacation days from any DSP employee to fund the bank.
  • Permit McRae to draw from the bank without being required to exhaust accrued paid time off first.
  • Ensure McRae continues to accrue benefits (sick, personal, pension-related, post-employment benefits, and vacation) during periods when the bank is used.
  • Preserve a separate accounting for donated hours and provide rules for after McRae’s return, retirement, or termination.
  • Clarify that bank use is limited to illness/disability related absences and not other types of leave.

Key provisions and changes

  • Section 1:

    • Establishes a sick leave bank for Matthew McRae, an employee of the DSP.
    • Allows voluntary employee contributions of 1 or more days of sick, personal, or vacation leave to the bank for McRae.
    • McRae may draw from the bank without having to exhaust accrued leave first.
    • McRae continues to earn and accrue contractual sick, personal, pension benefits, post-employment benefits, and vacation time during any period of absence covered by the bank.
    • Donated bank hours to McRae are kept in a separate account from his own accrued leave.
    • After McRae returns to duty, any remaining bank hours may be used for continuing care related to the illness/disability, as determined by the DSP.
    • If McRae terminates or retires, remaining bank hours transfer to the extended illness leave bank.
    • Bank hours cannot be used for absences unrelated to the illness/disability that started the bank, as determined by the DSP.

  • Section 2:

    • The DSP must credit McRae with accrued leave and any pension or post-employment benefits he would have earned during any absence period covered by the bank, starting from October 3, 2023, when the prior sick leave bank was used.
    • No duplication of accrued time already credited for that period.

  • Section 3:

    • Provisions of Section 1 take effect upon passage of the act.

  • Section 4:

    • Provisions of Section 2 take effect as of October 3, 2023.

Who/what is affected

  • Matthew McRae, DSP employee: primary beneficiary of the sick leave bank and related accrual adjustments.
  • Department of State Police: administrator of the sick leave bank and responsible for determining eligibility, use, and continuation terms.
  • DSP employees: potential contributors to the sick leave bank (sick, personal, or vacation days).
  • Other state employees: indirectly affected through any policy changes related to sick leave banking and future benefit accrual policies, though this bill specifically targets McRae’s bank.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Emergency enactment language: The bill declares itself an emergency to ensure immediate effectiveness for the purposes described.
  • Effective timing:
    • Section 1 provisions become effective upon passage.
    • Section 2 provisions take effect retroactively as of October 3, 2023.
  • Legislative history:
    • Filed April 9, 2026 (House Docket No. 6038).
    • Referred to House Rules, then Joint Rules.
    • Subsequent actions: House and Senate actions in 2026, with Senate concurrence on July 2, 2026.
  • This bill is a targeted, personnel-specific amendment rather than a general reform of all sick leave policies.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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