Advantages of the Workpartners collaboration
The Commonwealth offers a varied and complex package of absence and leave benefits. To help you navigate some of the most complex benefits of this package, we have partnered with Workpartners. They ensure the consistent and accurate application of leaves in conjunction with state and federal law, as well as our policies. Additionally, this collaboration creates a more centralized, single-source approach so that all employees will share the same leave administration experience no matter what their position is and regardless of which state agency they work for.
Workpartners is a trusted figure in the leave administration field and brings to the Commonwealth over 25 years of experience in leave administration and customer service to employees across a diverse range of clients. Some of the benefits we can expect from using Workpartners:
- Professional 24/7 intake and timely approval
- Immediate absence notification to agency supervisors and HR
- Oversight, program quality, and program integrity
- Expertise in regulatory compliance
- Self-service portal for employees, supervisors, and HR
Eligibility and Scope
All Executive Department employees should contact Workpartners when they need to call out sick. Workpartners is the point of contact for individual medical leaves or family or medical leaves due to a family member's serious health condition.
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Employees who pass their probationary period become eligible to take family or medical leave under their collective bargaining agreement.
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Employees who do not have a probationary period become eligible to take family and medical leave under the Red Book once they complete at least three (3) consecutive months of service or are eligible for PFML.
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Employees will be eligible for leave under the PFML when they meet the Department of Family and Medical Leave’s (DFML) financial eligibility test.
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Commonwealth Paid Contractors or Seasonal employees must complete 12 months of service AND must have worked at least 1250 hours in the last 12 months.
Launch Dates by Agency
Launch Timeline
| Timeframe | Action |
|---|---|
| September 22, 2022 | LEAVE ADMINISTRATION LAUNCH - Workpartners begins leave administration for ALL Executive Department Employees. |
| September 22, 2022 | ABSENCE ADMINISTRATION LAUNCH PHASE ONE: Workpartners begins absence administration for employees at EOANF, EOEDU, EOHED (now EOED and EOHLC), EOLWD, EOTSS, and MassDot |
| December 15, 2022 | ABSENCE ADMINISTRATION LAUNCH PHASE TWO: Workpartners begins absence administration for employees within select agencies at EOEEA, EOHHS, and EOPSS* |
| 2023 | ABSENCE ADMINISTRATION LAUNCH PHASE THREE: Workpartners begins absence reporting for additional agencies within EOEEA, EOHHS, and EOPSS to begin absence reporting. Agencies TBD. |
*The implementation date on sick calls related to day-to-day absences, illnesses or medical appointments will be announced once all details are finalized, approved and in place. Until then, current call-out procedures will remain in place.
Types of Leave Covered
The following types of leave are managed by Workpartners:
- Day-to-day sick absences
- Medical Leave: Employee to manage their own serious health condition
- Caring Leave: Employee to care for a family member with a serious health condition
- Bonding Leave: Employee to bond with a new child welcomed by birth, adoption, or foster placement
- Military Caregiver Leave: Employee to care for a family member who is both a current/former member of the Armed Forces AND was injured while serving
- (Military) Exigency Leave: Employee to manage affairs while a family member, who is a member of the Armed Forces, is on active duty
- Small Necessities Leave: Employee to attend their child’s: school activity or meeting related to their child’s education or routine medical and dental appointments; OR employee to attend their elderly relative’s: routine medical and dental appointments or appointments for professional services related to elder care
The following types of leave are NOT managed by Workpartners, and the way you request them will not change:
- Vacation and Personal Leave
- Domestic Violence Leave
- Military (i.e., employee is called to active duty)
- Blood and Bone Marrow Donation Leave
- Civic Duty Leave
- Voting Leave
- Bereavement Leave
- SERV (State Employees Responding as Volunteers Program)
How do I Request a Leave?
All policies for leaves managed by Workpartners remain the same in regards to timeframes, eligibility etc. The only difference is who you will request the leave from. When you need to request a leave managed by Workpartners, you will request this from Workpartners instead of your HR department or manager/supervisor. Leaves can be requested via a dedicated phone line (1-833-640-2800) or through the online consumer portal. Both channels are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Workpartners will inform your supervisor of your leave request on your behalf.
When you contact Workpartners, you will need to provide the following information:
- Your name
- Your mailing address
- Your email address (for quicker receipt of documents)
- Your date of birth
- The start and expected end date of the leave
- The reason for the leave (including family member name, if relevant)
If you have any questions on when to call Workpartners, please contact your Workpartners Liaison.
DUAL NOTIFICATION PERIOD:
For the first 10 weeks after our Go-Live, employees will need to call Workpartners and also contact their supervisor. Our goal is to ensure that any gaps in communication are resolved and that supervisory staff receive their notifications correctly before we cease our past notification practices.
Workpartners Liaisons at the Secretariat/Agencies
The table below displays the Workpartners liaisons by Secretariat/Agency. You can increase the number of rows visible on the screen by using the dropdown box to change the number of entries, or you can use the "next" button at the bottom of the table to advance to the next page. You can also enter what you are looking for in the "search" field for faster results.
Click on the + next to the Secretariat acronym to open the liaison contact information.
If you would like to download this spreadsheet for reference, you can use the link below the table. Please know that this information may change and if you refer to a previously downloaded copy of the contacts, you may have outdated information.
Contact Information for Workpartners Liaisons
Last updated: April 15, 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
Resources
This section will contain helpful resources for employees and HR, such as worksite posters, videos and more.
Employees in need of printed informational materials, such as wallet cards, should contact their Workpartners Liaison within their agency. Liaisons should contact the Office for Leave Policy Administration for additional supplies when needed.
Worksite Posters
These posters are sized to 8.5 x 11:
Agencies beginning sick absence reporting starting on December 15 - Updated Posters
All Executive Departments (English)
Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (English)
Executive Office of Health & Human Services (English)
Executive Office of Public Safety & Security (English)
Videos
Launch video: An introduction to Workpartners
Workpartners Confidentiality and Data Security
Day-to-day absences and leave requests for EOANF, EOEDU,EOED, EOHLC, EOLWD, EOTSS, and MassDOT
Leave Requests video for EOEEA, EOHSS, and EOPSS
Other Resources
Digital Contact Card:
Scan the QR code with your cell phone to create a contact for Workpartners.
Job Aid for adding a QRvcode to your device
Job Aid for Verifying and Updating your Employee Information
Contact for Commonwealth Absence and Leave Management
Online
Phone
Customer Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Fax
This number is to send paperwork only. Please do not use this fax number to initiate a leave request.