Mass. bill would require wage benchmarks and benefit reimbursements for direct-care workers

Representatives Sean Garballey (23rd Middlesex) and Simon Cataldo (14th Middlesex) filed House bill No. 2104 on Jan. 16, 2025, proposing changes to how the commonwealth reimburses human services wages and employer costs.

The bill, titled “An Act relative to meeting human service demand by modernizing incentives for the direct care workforce,” would add Sections 204 and 205 to Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws and directs the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to require that salary allowances for “direct care staff” be set at a minimum of the 75th percentile of comparable positions as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It would also require transparent documentation of fringe-benefit and payroll-tax reimbursement calculations and use the Consumer Price Index for nonpersonnel cost adjustments.

If enacted, the measure would define two categories of workers—"Direct Care Staff or Direct Support Professional" and "Other Direct Care Staff or Direct Support Professional"—and require that salary increases for front-line supervisors, directors, clinicians, caseworkers, employment specialists and case managers move in proportion with the 75th-percentile baseline. The bill specifies that increases for executives—positions described as chief executive officer, chief financial officer, comptroller, chief operating officer or related executive staff—are not to be incorporated under the wage requirement.

The bill also directs that the formula for calculating the employer portion of fringe benefits and payroll taxes—examples named in the text include Medicare, workers’ compensation, employer-provided health insurance, unemployment insurance, retirement contributions and paid family medical leave—be benchmarked to changes in those same costs in the health or education sector, as applicable. The text requires that such allowances be recorded separately from allocations dedicated to costs associated with employer mandates promulgated by the commonwealth, such as fingerprinting and required registries.

Section 2 of the bill states that compliance with the bill’s provisions "shall not result in a reduction, deferment or non-payment of any other costs associated with social service programs or long term services and supports programs in the Commonwealth." Section 3 specifies that Sections 1 through 4 would take effect 180 days after enactment. Section 4 would begin on July 1, 2025, an eight-month planning process within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to develop a methodology justifying use of the 75th-percentile benchmark.

The filing lists Representative Garballey and Representative Cataldo as the presenters and includes a group of co-sponsors from across the House. The docket identifies the bill as House No. 2104; the text shows it was filed Jan. 16, 2025. The filing itself is the action recorded in the docket and does not indicate committee referral or a floor vote.