Yes. Maryland has a paid family leave program called FAMLI (Family and Medical Leave Insurance), created by the Time to Care Act. Once it’s running, eligible workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks off in a year for a new child, their own serious health condition, a family member’s serious health condition, or certain military-related needs, and receive up to $1,000 a week while they’re out. Payroll contributions begin January 1, 2027, and benefit payments are expected by January 2028.
When Benefits Start
House Bill 102, signed in 2025, pushed the original launch dates back by about 18 months. Employer and employee payroll contributions now begin on January 1, 2027.1Maryland Department of Labor (FAMLI Division). FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions Benefits must become available no later than January 3, 2028, though the Secretary of Labor has authority to open claims as early as January 1, 2027.2Maryland General Assembly. HB 102 Department of Legislative Services Fiscal Note The Maryland Department of Labor’s FAMLI site currently points to a January 2028 start for benefits.3Maryland Department of Labor. Maryland FAMLI – Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Coming to Maryland
Who Qualifies
To draw FAMLI benefits, you need at least 680 hours of work in Maryland over the four most recently completed calendar quarters before your claim. That averages to roughly 17 hours a week, which means many part-time workers qualify alongside full-time employees.4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 8.3-101
Self-employed Maryland residents can opt in, but the enrollment rules, contribution amounts, and benefit levels for self-employed participants haven’t been finalized. The Secretary of Labor has until July 1, 2028 to adopt those regulations.5Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 8.3-201 Until they’re published, the specifics for self-employed workers are unsettled.
Reasons You Can Take Leave
FAMLI covers five categories of leave:
- Bonding with a new child during the first year after birth or placement through adoption, foster care, or kinship care.
- Managing your own serious health condition.
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Handling needs tied to a family member’s military deployment, including preparing for deployment, arranging childcare, making legal or financial arrangements, and attending post-deployment activities.
- Caring for a family member in uniformed service with a serious health condition caused or worsened by that service.
A “serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that requires a hospital stay or ongoing treatment from a licensed healthcare provider. Donating a body part, organ, or tissue is also covered, including related appointments, testing, surgery, and recovery. A routine doctor visit on its own doesn’t qualify.6Maryland FAMLI, Family and Medical Leave Insurance. About the Program
The definition of “family member” is broad. It includes your child (including an adult child), parent, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, and legal guardian or ward. Each of those covers biological, adopted, foster, and step relationships. “Parent” also includes anyone who acted as a parent to you or your spouse during childhood, and in-laws.6Maryland FAMLI, Family and Medical Leave Insurance. About the Program
How Much You’ll Be Paid
Maryland uses a tiered formula that pays lower earners a higher share of their wages. The two tiers compare your pay to the statewide average weekly wage:
- If you earn 65% or less of the state average weekly wage, you receive 90% of your own average weekly wage.
- If you earn more than 65% of the state average weekly wage, you receive 90% of the portion of your wages up to that 65% threshold, plus 50% of the portion above it.
Either way, the weekly benefit is capped at $1,000. Your FAMLI benefit plus any employer-paid leave also cannot exceed 100% of your average weekly wage.7Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Labor and Employment Code Section 8.3-703 The $1,000 cap stays fixed until January 1, 2029, when it begins adjusting annually for inflation.2Maryland General Assembly. HB 102 Department of Legislative Services Fiscal Note
How Long You Can Be Out
You can receive up to 12 weeks of benefits in a 12-month period. If two qualifying events hit in the same year, such as recovering from your own serious health condition and welcoming a new child, you can get up to 12 weeks for each, for a combined maximum of 24 weeks.8Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
There is no waiting period. Benefits start on your first day of leave, unlike several comparable state programs that make the first week unpaid.8Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
You don’t have to use the leave in one stretch. The program allows intermittent leave, meaning you can break the 12 weeks into smaller blocks. Under the state plan, the minimum increment is four hours per absence, and you and your employer should agree on a schedule. A private plan may allow shorter increments.8Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
Your Job While You’re Out
FAMLI protects your job as well as your paycheck. Your employer has to hold your position during the leave and return you to the same role or an equivalent one when you come back.9Maryland FAMLI. For Employers Health insurance has to continue on the same terms as if you were still working.8Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
Job protection has limits. If you were hired for a specific project or fixed term that ended while you were on leave, your employer isn’t required to invent a new position. And if a continuing health condition keeps you from doing the essential duties of your job after leave ends, FAMLI’s restoration right doesn’t require your employer to move you into a different role. The Americans with Disabilities Act may separately require a reasonable accommodation.
How It Works with the Federal FMLA
If you qualify for both Maryland FAMLI and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the two run concurrently. You don’t get 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA followed by 12 weeks of paid FAMLI; they overlap. The practical difference is that FMLA provides unpaid, job-protected leave while FAMLI adds the paycheck, and FAMLI reaches more workers because FMLA only applies to employers with 50 or more employees. When a leave qualifies for FAMLI but not FMLA, no FMLA time is used.10Maryland FAMLI, Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Leave Management Both spouses can take FAMLI leave at the same time, even if they work for the same employer.11Maryland FAMLI. For Employees
What You’ll Pay In
FAMLI funds itself through payroll contributions shared between employers and employees. The initial total rate announced in September 2023 was 0.9% of covered wages, split evenly at 0.45% each. The rate cannot exceed 1.2%. Contributions apply only to wages up to the Social Security wage base, which is $184,500 in 2026.12Maryland FAMLI, Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Contributions13Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base The Secretary of Labor will announce the actual 2027 rate by May 1, 2026.
Your employer withholds your share from each paycheck and remits both portions. If your employer has fewer than 15 total employees (counting workers inside and outside Maryland), only the employee half gets remitted, and the employer can withhold that amount from employee pay rather than cover a separate share.8Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
How to File a Claim
For foreseeable leave, like a planned surgery or an expected due date, your employer can require at least 30 days’ advance notice. For unexpected events, give notice as soon as you reasonably can.14Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Claims Questions October 2025 You can apply up to 60 days before or after your leave starts.8Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
Health-related claims need certification from a licensed healthcare provider confirming the nature of the condition and expected duration. Child bonding claims need documentation such as a birth certificate, adoption decree, or foster care placement letter. Fill out every field on the certification forms; incomplete information about medical necessity or frequency of care is one of the most common reasons for delays and denials.14Maryland Department of Labor. FAMLI Claims Questions October 2025
Claims are submitted through the FAMLI portal at paidleave.maryland.gov. The Department of Labor notifies your employer and verifies eligibility, including the 680-hour history and supporting documents. Approved payments go directly to you.3Maryland Department of Labor. Maryland FAMLI – Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Coming to Maryland
If Your Employer Uses a Private Plan
Employers aren’t locked into the state plan. Any employer can apply to offer a private plan through a commercial carrier or by self-insuring, provided the FAMLI Division approves it and the benefits and claims experience are at least as good as the state plan. If a private-plan employer withholds contributions from paychecks, the employee share cannot exceed what the state plan would charge, and private plans can offer more generous terms, such as intermittent leave in increments shorter than four hours.15Maryland FAMLI, Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Private Plans If your employer announces a switch to a private plan, confirm that benefit levels, covered events, and job protections match or exceed the state plan.