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S 1319

Relates to expanding the persons responsible for reporting cases of suspected child abuse

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Clarifies unemployment benefits during labor disputes and lockouts, including a 30-day waiting period, exceptions, and disqualification limits.

REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
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Bill Summary · S 1319

Bill Summary — S.1319 (2025): “An Act relative to unemployment compensation and labor disputes”

Note up front: the bill metadata provided includes conflicting titles and committee referrals (references to child‑abuse reporting and to several different committees). The actual bill text filed (Senate No. 1319) amends Massachusetts unemployment law (G.L. c.151A, §25) and concerns unemployment benefits during labor disputes and employer lockouts. This summary describes the substance of that text.

Purpose / Intent

To clarify and modify when unemployment benefits may be paid to workers affected by labor disputes (strikes or lockouts), to limit disqualification or waiting periods in specific circumstances, and to define conditions under which a lockout does or does not bar benefit eligibility.

Key provisions

  • Replaces existing subsection (b) of G.L. c.151A, §25 with a new, more detailed rule governing unemployment due to stoppages from labor disputes.
  • Establishes a 30‑day period after the commencement of unemployment caused by a labor dispute during which the commissioner finds unemployment due to that stoppage. If an employer refuses to permit an employee’s return after that period, the claimant may recover benefits lost during the 30‑day waiting period.
  • Removes waiting‑period/disqualification if the labor dispute results from the employer’s failure or refusal to comply with an agreement/contract (including collective bargaining agreements) or applicable state/federal laws on hours, wages, or working conditions.
  • Provides two explicit exceptions allowing benefits:
    1. Individuals who become involuntarily unemployed during collective bargaining negotiations may receive benefits up to the date a strike commences.
    2. Individuals not recalled to work within one week after the labor dispute ends.
  • Establishes conditions under which the subsection does not apply if the commissioner finds that:
    1. The employee is not participating in, financing, or directly interested in the dispute; and
    2. The employee does not belong to the grade/class of workers that caused the stoppage (with clarifying exceptions).
  • Clarifies that regular union dues/assessments do not count as participating in or financing a labor dispute.
  • Excludes wages earned from the disputing employer from benefit‑determining wages during the dispute; allows benefits calculation to consider post‑dispute wages if the individual obtained other employment meeting statutory thresholds.
  • Adds protections for employees affected by an employer lockout: employees who are ready, willing, and able to work under existing/expired contract terms shall not be denied benefits because of a lockout unless the employer proves by a preponderance of evidence that the lockout was in response to:
    • repeated and substantial damage to employer property, or
    • repeated threats of imminent, substantial damage, and that such acts were caused or directed by bargaining‑unit members with express/implied approval of unit officers, despite the employer’s reasonable prevention efforts.
  • Defines “lockout” to include physically closing a plant or telling employees there will be no work until a labor dispute ends.

Who is affected

  • Employees engaged in or affected by labor disputes (strikes) or employer lockouts in Massachusetts.
  • Employers engaged in collective bargaining or involved in disputes with their workforce.
  • The Department of Unemployment Assistance (commissioner) — responsible for applying these standards when adjudicating claims.

Procedural status & timeline (as provided)

  • Filed in Senate: 1/17/2025 (Senate Docket No. 2039).
  • Introduced in Senate / Read twice and referred: 4/08/2025 (committee listings vary in provided record: Energy & Natural Resources; previously referred to Labor & Workforce Development on 2/27/2025; also an entry shows referral to Children & Families on 1/09).
  • Hearings scheduled/rescheduled for 11/17/2025 (various times; virtual option noted).
  • Multiple related/companion bills listed (e.g., HR 2727, A 6380) and prior session bills addressing similar matters.

Notes / discrepancies

  • Metadata includes an initial title about expanding mandatory reporters for child abuse; that title does not match the bill text, which addresses unemployment compensation and labor disputes. The sponsor lists and committee referrals in the provided materials are inconsistent. Readers should consult the official legislative website or the Secretary of the Commonwealth for the authoritative bill text, current status, and correct committee assignment.

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

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