How Long Is Maternity Leave in Maryland? 12 Weeks Paid, Up to 24

Maternity leave in Maryland runs up to 12 weeks of paid benefits through the state’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program starting July 1, 2026, and up to 24 weeks of paid benefits if pregnancy or childbirth involves a serious health condition on top of newborn bonding.¹ Job protection during that time comes separately from the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or the Maryland Parental Leave Act, depending on how large your employer is. The paid benefit caps at $1,000 per week.²

The 12 Weeks of Paid Leave Under FAMLI

Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program pays up to 12 weeks of benefits per application year for bonding with a new child, whether by birth, adoption, or foster care placement.¹ Claims can be filed beginning July 1, 2026.³

Almost every Maryland employer is covered. An employer with even one employee in the state must register with the program, and there are no size-based exemptions.⁴ That means workers at very small businesses have access to paid maternity benefits, which is a broader reach than either the federal FMLA or the older Maryland Parental Leave Act.

When You Can Get Up to 24 Weeks Paid

The 12-week cap doubles in one specific situation. If you experience a serious health condition during pregnancy or recovery — a complicated delivery, a C-section with extended recovery time, preeclampsia, or a similar condition — the medical leave and the bonding leave are treated as two separate qualifying events. Together they can add up to 24 weeks of paid FAMLI benefits in the same application year.¹

A routine pregnancy with an uncomplicated recovery does not trigger this. Those workers stay at the 12-week bonding limit. The extra 12 weeks are available only when the medical side of the pregnancy meets the definition of a serious health condition on its own.

How Much You’ll Actually Be Paid

Your weekly FAMLI benefit is calculated against the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW):

If you earn at or below 65% of the SAWW, you receive 90% of your average weekly wage.
If you earn above 65% of the SAWW, you receive 90% of your wages up to that threshold, plus 50% of any wages above it.

Either way, benefits cap at $1,000 per week.² The amount is locked in using the SAWW in effect when your approved leave begins and stays the same for the rest of the claim.⁵

Lower earners get a higher replacement rate. Someone making $600 per week would receive around $540. A higher earner at $1,500 per week would land closer to the $1,000 cap, which works out to less than two-thirds of their pay. For most families, the benefit is meaningful but short of a full paycheck, so it’s worth planning the household budget before leave starts.

Job Protection During Your Leave

Paid benefits and job protection are separate things in Maryland. Whether your job is legally protected while you’re out depends on your employer’s size and your work history.

Federal FMLA: 12 Weeks Unpaid, at Larger Employers

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoption of a child. To qualify:

Your employer must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite.
You must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months.
You must have logged at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave begins.

Your employer has to maintain your group health insurance on the same terms as if you were still working.⁶

A narrow exception applies to the highest-paid staff. If you’re a salaried employee in the top 10% of earners at your worksite, your employer can classify you as a “key employee” and deny reinstatement — not the leave itself — if returning you to your job would cause substantial economic harm. The employer must notify you in writing before or when your leave begins, and you can still request reinstatement at the end of leave.⁷

Maryland Parental Leave Act: 6 Weeks Unpaid, at Mid-Sized Employers

If your employer has between 15 and 49 employees, the Maryland Parental Leave Act provides 6 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. You need at least 12 months of employment with the employer and at least 1,250 hours worked over the prior year.⁸

Employers can deny the leave if granting it would cause substantial and grievous economic injury to their business, but they must notify you before the leave starts. If the employer offers any paid leave, they can require you to use that paid time as part of the six weeks rather than on top of it.⁸

Maryland law also prohibits employers from firing, demoting, suspending, or otherwise retaliating against workers who exercise their leave rights.⁹ Complaints can be filed with the Maryland Department of Labor. Documenting your leave request, your employer’s responses, and any changes to your role after returning makes a retaliation claim easier to pursue.

How Paid and Unpaid Leave Fit Together

The paid and unpaid programs generally run at the same time, not back-to-back. If your FAMLI leave also qualifies as FMLA leave, which it usually will for workers at larger employers, the two run concurrently. You take 12 weeks total: FAMLI provides the paycheck, FMLA provides the job-protection and health-insurance guarantees.

The main exception is the 24-week scenario. If you qualify for both medical and bonding leave, you can receive up to 24 weeks of FAMLI pay. FMLA job protection covers 12 of those weeks. The additional 12 weeks of pay come from FAMLI, which includes its own return-to-work protections but sits outside the federal job-protection framework.

For workers at employers with 15 to 49 employees, the Maryland Parental Leave Act’s 6 weeks of job protection overlap with the first 6 weeks of FAMLI benefits. FAMLI payments continue after that point, but the state’s unpaid-leave job protection ends at week six.

Maryland State Government Employees

Maryland state workers designated as the primary caregiver for a new child receive up to 60 days of paid parental leave, which is 480 hours based on an 8-hour workday. The leave must be taken within 6 months of the child’s birth or the adoption of a child under age 6.¹⁰

One rule surprises many state workers: you must exhaust your available annual and personal leave first. If your combined annual and personal leave balance already equals or exceeds 60 days, no additional parental leave is granted. The policy tops you up to 60 days rather than adding 60 on top of what you have.¹⁰

There is no waiting period, and new state employees qualify as long as they meet the primary caregiver designation. Two state employees who are co-parents can each receive up to 60 days, but they cannot both be designated primary caregiver during the same period.

Filing a Claim and Giving Notice

FAMLI claims go through the state’s online portal at paidleave.maryland.gov. After you file, your employer has 5 business days to respond with information such as prior FMLA or FAMLI leave use or whether you gave proper notice. Employers are not required to respond; if they don’t, or if their response raises no issues, the claim moves forward. Once considered complete, the FAMLI Division has 10 business days to make a determination.²

You do not need a doctor’s note for bonding leave. Under federal rules, an employer cannot require medical certification for leave taken solely to bond with a new child.¹¹ Medical documentation applies only when leave involves a serious health condition, such as pregnancy or delivery complications.

Both FMLA and the Maryland Parental Leave Act require 30 days of advance written notice when leave is foreseeable, which a due date almost always is.¹² Notifying your employer about two months before your expected delivery gives a comfortable margin.

FAMLI also allows the 12 weeks to be taken intermittently rather than in one block, with each period of leave running at least 4 hours under the state plan unless your shift is shorter.² That flexibility helps some parents ease back into work part-time before using up all their benefits.

If You’re Self-Employed

Self-employed Maryland residents cannot access FAMLI at launch. The FAMLI Division states that a voluntary opt-in for self-employed workers is expected to open in 2028, with participation and contribution details still to be determined.¹³ Until then, independent contractors and self-employed workers have no state paid-leave benefit available, and there is no state law providing them job-protected maternity leave.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 8.3-702 – Limitations on Benefits
2
Maryland FAMLI. For Employees
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 8.3-701 – Claims for Benefits by Covered Individuals
4
Maryland FAMLI. For Employers
5
Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 09.42.04.06 – FAMLI Benefit Calculation
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act
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U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act Advisor – Key Employees and Their Rights
8
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 3-1202 – Unpaid Parental Leave
9
Maryland Department of Labor. Employees and Employers – Important Guidelines
10
Department of Budget and Management. Parental Leave – Frequently Asked Questions
11
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28G – Medical Certification Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
12
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.302 – Employee Notice Requirements for Foreseeable FMLA Leave
13
Maryland FAMLI. About the Program