Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • April 27, 2015 www.wbjournal.com M assachusetts is getting ready to enact a sick- time law that voters approved in November. The ballot initiative received a healthy dose of support, passing by 59 percent to 40 percent, and the new rules are expected to kick in July 1. What does the law mandate? The upshot of the lengthy ballot initiative is that businesses with at least 11 employees must provide 40 hours of paid sick time a year. Businesses with fewer people must offer that same amount of time, but they don't have to pay for it. Workers must accrue the sick time at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours of work; and use it according to guidelines on illness, doctor visits and other cir- cumstances. Also, employees can carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick time to the next calendar year, but can't use more than 40 hours in a calendar year. Employers would not have to pay employees for unused sick time when they leave their jobs. What's the problem? The law isn't written yet. The regulations will affect businesses throughout the state, many of which already have their own sick-time policies. That makes the new rules both sweeping and complex. Crafting a law that's clear, thorough, practicable and that adheres to the will of the voters is not an easy task. And although Attorney General Maura Healey expects that work to be finished soon — with draft regulations to be filed by the end of this month, and final regulations published by mid-June, according to an April 16 report by State House News Service — that makes the timing tight for businesses to make the adjustments they need to be in compliance come July. Will there be a delay in implementing the law? Some, including state Sen. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, and the business group Associated Industries of Massachusetts, have recently pushed for a postponement to Jan. 1, 2016. They argue that employ- ers need more time to make any changes to their inter- nal procedures and systems, in order to implement the new rules properly and smoothly. Some also say a mid- year rules switch is tougher to deal with than one that would begin Jan. 1. Others have urged officials to stick to the schedule. Ben Wright, director of Raise Up Massachusetts, said in the April 16 report that his group worked hard for pas- sage so that workers currently without earned sick time can gain it. "The public wants earned sick time, and we should go forward with implementation just as the vot- ers voted," he said. Q FRAMINGHAM — Staples Inc. is acquiring Accolade Promotion Group (APG), a Canadian distributor of pro- motional products. In a statement, Staples and Golf Town Canada Inc., APG's parent firm, said the deal will build on Staples' position as the largest distributor of promotional products in North America and expand offerings for its customers. The acquisition, for which terms were not disclosed, "will further Staples' ability to bring cus- tomers a strong brand partner with a broader offering in Canada," Steve Bussberg, senior vice president of Staples Advantage, said in the state- ment. Staples Advantage oversees Kansas-based Staples Promotional Products (SPP), a leading promotional products distributor. DEVENS — Stock in wind energy equipment manufacturer AMSC shot up more than 30 percent last week in the two days a!er it announced ex- panded relationships with both the U.S. Navy and the utilty Eversource. Last week, AMSC, formerly Ameri- can Superconductor, announced that the Navy had sought out the company for its high temperature superconduc- tor (HTS) equipment. A contract is expected to be signed a!er April 28, AMSC said. Analysts had been looking for the company to secure additional orders and customers amid continued losses — $22.7 million in the last year. AMSC has been rebuilding its cus- tomer base since it became embroiled in a legal battle in 2010 with its largest customer, Sinovel Wind Group of Chi- na, over alleged the! of trade secrets. FRAMINGHAM — CEO Carol Mey- rowitz will take over as the board chair of the TJX Cos. when founder Ben Cammarata retires a!er nearly 40 years with the company. Cammarata will step down in June at the compa- ny's annual meeting, but will remain in an advisory role with the company, the parent of o"-price retailers T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods. Mey- rowitz has been CEO since 2007, one year a!er taking a seat on the board. WORCESTER — Medical device manufacturer Grove Instruments filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in U.S. District Court in Worcester. Grove, which had been developing a non- invasive glucometer for diabetes patients, said in its filing that it has more than 50 creditors and between $1 million and $10 million in liabili- ties, with only $50,000 to $100,000 in assets. Just six months ago, Grove announced it had reached a landmark clinical milestone in developing its glucometer, which it called the "last hurdle" before going to market with the product, critical for diabetes patients in monitoring their blood- sugar levels. SHREWSBURY — White City Shopping Center has been sold to an Illinois real estate company for $97 million. The property was sold by Charter Realty & Development and Acadia Realty Trust to Inland National Real Estate Service. Charter and Acadia, a joint venture, had acquired the 260,000-square-foot property located next to Lake Quinsigamond in 2010 for $56 million, according to CBRE/New England, which brokered the sale for the sellers. The owners undertook a redevelopment campaign that included upgrading infrastruc- ture, common areas and signage and adding architectural features, accord- ing to CBRE. Since 2010, the owners also replaced or renewed tenants in more than half of the plaza's 44 stores, CBRE reported. The plaza is anchored by a Shaw's Supermarket and fully leased. WORCESTER — The College of the Holy Cross will build a $22-million facility on a 52-acre site in West Boylston that will boost its retreat pro- grams, the school announced. The site, which is adjacent to conservation area and overlooks the Wachusett Reservoir, was purchased by the school last year. It will be called the Joyce Contemplative Center, named after the late Thomas P. Joyce, a 1959 alum- nus and member of the Holy Cross board of trustees who was former chairman of Joyce Beverages in Chicago, a statement from the college read. He is also the father of six Holy Cross graduates. MARLBOROUGH — A drug being developed by RXi Pharmaceuticals to treat patients with malignant mela- noma has secured "orphan" status from the federal government, allowing RXi to seek more incentives to bring it to market, the company announced. The drug, Samcyprone, is being devel- oped to help prevent the skin-level spread of melanoma. The designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration qualifies RXi for sev- eral incentives, including seven years of market exclusivity after the drug's approval, tax credits for clinical research costs and reductions in appli- cation fees, RXi said in a statement. The orphan designation is reserved for drugs that are used to treat rare dis- eases or conditions and whose devel- opment costs might not be adequately recovered through sales. HOLLISTON — The CEO at biotech Harvard Apparatus Regenerative REGIONAL BRIEFS >> Continued on next page Verbatim "There (have) been conversations and there seems to be no appetite in the Legislature to take up ... recreational marijuana, so you should expect to see it on the ballot in 2016." Massachusetts Senate President Stanley Rosenberg after a group pushing for marijua- na legalization filed a draft petition to regulate the sale of recreational marijuana. Source: State House News Service, April 17 "This is by far the largest infusion of private philanthropy into community development that I can recall in the last 20 years." Joseph Kriesberg, president of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, on the success of a new tax credit program for those who donate to community development groups. Source: Boston Globe, April 16 >> "Why not allow (ven- dors) on our com- mon? It would add a little vibrancy, a little excitement." Worcester City Councilor Gary Rosen, upon asking the city administration to revisit a poli- cy that bans vendors from regularly selling food on the common. Source: Telegram & Gazette, April 14 >> BRIEFING: EARNED SICK TIME CENTRALMASS In Review >>

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