Maryland Again Delays Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

For the third year in a row, Maryland has delayed implementation of its Paid Family Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program. On May 6, 2025, Governor Moore signed HB 102, a bill modifying the FAMLI program, first established by the Time to Care Act in 2022. The new law delays the start of contributions from July 1, 2025 until January 1, 2027, and delays the availability of benefits from July 1, 2026 to between January 1, 2027 at the earliest and January 3, 2028 at the latest.¹ HB 102 also repeals certain requirements for participating self-employed individuals, and defines an “anchor date” for the calculation of a covered employee’s average weekly wage and eligibility for increases in weekly benefits. 

Once implemented, the FAMLI program will cover all Maryland employers with at least one employee and will be funded by contributions from both employers and employees. The rate of contribution will be adjusted annually based on a required cost analysis. Employers with 14 or fewer employees are not required to make employer contributions, but their employees will be required to do so and entitled to FAMLI benefits. The program generally provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave benefits to employees for the following covered reasons:

• to care for a newborn child of the covered individual during the first year after the child’s birth;
• to care for or bond with a child placed for adoption, foster care, or kinship care during the first year after the placement;
• to care for a family member with a serious health condition;
• to attend to a serious health condition that results in the covered individual being unable to perform the functions of the covered individual’s position;
• to care for a service member with a serious health condition resulting from military service for whom the covered individual is next of kin; or
• to attend to a qualifying exigency arising out of the deployment of a service member who is a family member of the covered individual.

The Maryland secretary of labor now has until July 1, 2028, to adopt regulations for an optional self-employed enrollment program, including contribution and benefit amounts as well as enrollment procedures. 

The recent legislation creates an “anchor date” for establishing when an employee is eligible for benefits. “Anchor date” is defined as the earlier date on which an application for benefits is complete or when leave begins for a covered individual. To qualify for FAMLI program benefits, an employee must have worked at least 680 hours in Maryland in the four most recently completed calendar quarters preceding the anchor date. The anchor date will also be used to calculate the average weekly wage on which benefit amounts are based as well as any corresponding annual increases.

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 bill did not change the minimum benefit amount of $50 per week and maximum weekly benefit amount of $1,000 per week, but provides that beginning in 2029, the maximum weekly benefit amount will increase due to inflation. 

This recent legislation still permits employers to apply for exemption from making FAMLI program contributions if they offer a private plan with benefits equal to or better than what the program will pay. 

Given the number of delays in its implementation and changes since the FAMLI program was created in 2022, it remains unclear how the program will look when it goes into effect. Employers operating in Maryland should continue to monitor the situation and consult with counsel to make sure they know when and how to comply with the program’s requirements.