Maryland Postpones the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI)
On May 6, 2025, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed into law HB 102, delaying the start date of Maryland's highly anticipated paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program ("FAMLI"). Maryland employers and employees now will begin making contributions to the insurance program on January 1, 2027. This is a delay to the previous start date of July 1, 2025.
The bill requires the Maryland Department of Labor to set the contribution rate for the 2027 calendar year by May 1, 2026, and to announce the rate for each subsequent calendar year by November 1 of the prior year. The Department must also set, for the submission of benefit claims, a date no earlier than January 1, 2027 but no later than January 3, 2028.
The bill did not change the minimum and maximum weekly benefit amounts through the 2028 calendar year ($50 and $1,000, respectively), but beginning in 2029, the maximum weekly benefit amount will increase to account for inflation.
We previously reported on the details of the FAMLI program in this post.
Maryland Clarifies Parental Leave Law
On May 6, 2025, Governor Wes Moore also signed SB 785, clarifying that the Maryland Parental Leave Act excludes employers in Maryland that also become covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") even where the business appears to meet the coverage requirements for both laws. The Maryland Parental Leave Act applies to businesses that employ at least 15 and not more than 49 employees within in the State "for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year." Covered employers must provide eligible workers up to six weeks of unpaid leave for childbirth, adoption, or foster care placement. By contrast, federal FMLA coverage requires a minimum of 50 employees. The new law takes effect October 1, 2025, and is intended to address the confusion that may arise when an employer becomes subject to the FMLA based on an increased employee complement, but also remains subject to the Maryland Parental Leave Act because it employed 15 to 49 employees in the "current or preceding calendar year." See Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-1201(c)(1).
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