Maryland paid family leave, officially the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI), will give eligible workers up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave each year with a maximum benefit of $1,000 per week. Payroll contributions that fund the program begin January 1, 2027, and workers can start claiming benefits in January 2028.1Maryland FAMLI. Family and Medical Leave Insurance Frequently Asked Questions The program was created by the Time to Care Act and sits in Maryland Code, Labor and Employment, Title 8.3.
Key Dates
Nothing is active yet. Payroll deductions start January 1, 2027, and employers remit the first payment to the state in April 2027. Benefits become available to workers starting in January 2028.1Maryland FAMLI. Family and Medical Leave Insurance Frequently Asked Questions If you need paid leave before January 2028, FAMLI cannot help you; your options are whatever your employer offers, unpaid federal FMLA leave if you qualify, or short-term disability insurance.
Who Qualifies
To receive FAMLI benefits, you need at least 680 hours worked in a Maryland-based position during the four calendar quarters reported before you file your claim or your leave begins, whichever comes first.2Maryland FAMLI. About the Program That is a four-quarter reporting lookback, not a rolling 12 months counted backward from your leave date, so pay attention to which quarters your hours fall into.
Coverage reaches most private-sector and government workers in the state. If you work remotely from Maryland for an out-of-state employer, your physical work location generally determines whether Maryland’s program covers you; check your pay stub for Maryland-specific deductions once contributions begin to confirm your classification.
You must be employed when you file. People who are unemployed at the time of application do not qualify.2Maryland FAMLI. About the Program
Self-employed Maryland residents can opt in, but not immediately. The rules and enrollment process are expected to be available in 2028. Participants who opt in pay both the employer and employee shares of the contribution and then become eligible for benefits.2Maryland FAMLI. About the Program
Reasons You Can Take Leave
FAMLI covers four categories of leave:
- Bonding with a newborn or a child placed with you through adoption, foster care, or kinship care, at any point during the first year after birth or placement.2Maryland FAMLI. About the Program
- Your own serious health condition, including recovery from surgery, treatment for a chronic illness, or any condition involving ongoing incapacity or care from a medical provider.
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Qualifying needs that arise when a family member is called to active duty in the uniformed services.3Maryland FAMLI. For Employees
“Family member” is defined broadly. It includes your spouse or domestic partner, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings, and each of those categories covers biological, adopted, foster, and step-relationships.4Maryland Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
How Much You’ll Be Paid
Your weekly benefit depends on your average weekly wage compared to Maryland’s statewide average weekly wage (SAWW). If your wage is 65% or less of the SAWW, you receive 90% of your own average weekly wage. If your wage is higher, you receive 90% of the portion up to the 65% threshold plus 50% of your wages above it.3Maryland FAMLI. For Employees
The minimum benefit is $50 per week and the maximum is $1,000 per week.3Maryland FAMLI. For Employees There is no waiting or elimination period; benefits are available from your first day of leave.5Maryland FAMLI. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025
How Long You Can Be Out
Most claims allow up to 12 weeks of benefits within a 12-month period. If you have your own serious health condition and also welcome a new child during the same benefit year, you may qualify for up to 12 weeks for each event, totaling up to 24 weeks. The two events can be related, such as complications from childbirth, but they don’t have to be.3Maryland FAMLI. For Employees
You don’t have to take the leave in one block. FAMLI allows intermittent leave, which helps with ongoing treatments or conditions that flare up unpredictably. The minimum increment is four hours per absence, unless your scheduled shift was shorter than that. Once you’re approved for intermittent leave, you must submit a benefit request within five business days of each time you take leave, and the approval expires after one year, so you’ll need to file again if your need continues.6Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 09.42.04.07 – Intermittent FAMLI Leave Benefit Request Process
Job Protection and Anti-Retaliation
FAMLI holds your job. Your employer must return you to your position or an equivalent one when your leave ends.7Maryland FAMLI. Paid Family and Medical Leave Is Coming to Maryland This matters because federal FMLA job protection only reaches employers with 50 or more employees, while FAMLI’s protection extends to Maryland workers at much smaller companies.
Employers cannot retaliate against you for applying for or using FAMLI benefits. That bar includes firing, demoting, reducing hours, or any other adverse action tied to your use of the program. Complaints and enforcement run through the FAMLI Division.
How FAMLI and Federal FMLA Interact
The two programs do different jobs. Federal FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, but only if your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite, you have worked there at least 12 months, and you logged at least 1,250 hours in that period.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act
If you qualify for both, FAMLI and FMLA generally run at the same time rather than stacking. You get the FAMLI wage replacement and the FMLA job-protection guarantee in parallel. If you only qualify for FAMLI (for instance, because your employer is too small for FMLA), FAMLI still provides its own job protection along with the paid benefit.
What You’ll Pay In
The Maryland Department of Labor initially set the total contribution rate at 0.9% of wages, split evenly between employers and employees at 0.45% each. Under 2025 legislation, the department must announce an updated rate by May 1, 2026, covering January 1 through December 31, 2027, based on actuarial analysis.9Maryland FAMLI. Contributions
Contributions apply to wages up to the Social Security wage base.10Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Labor and Employment 8.3-601 Your share comes out of each paycheck. Some employers may voluntarily cover part or all of the employee share.
Small employers with fewer than 15 total employees (counting Maryland and out-of-state workers) only remit the employee half of the contribution. They skip the employer portion. Workers at those small companies still pay their own share and remain fully eligible for benefits.9Maryland FAMLI. Contributions
Your employer may run an approved private plan instead of participating in the state fund. The plan has to be at least as generous as FAMLI, and from your side as a worker the benefits and protections should match. Ask your HR department which option your employer is using.
How to File When Benefits Open
Before applying, pull together your Social Security number, your employer’s contact information, and documentation supporting your leave. Health-related claims need a medical certification from a licensed provider. Parental leave needs proof of birth, adoption, or placement.
Applications go through the Maryland Department of Labor portal at paidleave.maryland.gov, or by mailing a paper application obtained from the site or a Department of Labor office. Be precise about your expected start and end dates, and double-check your medical provider’s details, because the state uses that information to verify the claim.
If your leave is foreseeable, your employer can require 30 days’ notice. If it isn’t, give notice as soon as you reasonably can.5Maryland FAMLI. FAMLI Frequently Asked Questions October 2025 Those notice rules apply to your employer. Telling your boss is not the same as filing your claim; you still need to submit the application to the FAMLI Division separately.
Taxes on Benefits
FAMLI benefits are taxable at the federal level. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 2025-4, the portion of your benefit attributable to your employer’s contribution counts as gross income and is treated as third-party sick pay for federal tax purposes.11Internal Revenue Service. Extension of Transition Period to Calendar Year 2026 for Certain Requirements in Revenue Ruling 2025-4 The IRS has set a transition period through calendar year 2026 during which states and employers are not required to follow the full withholding and reporting rules for employer-attributed portions, so the reporting mechanics may still be settling in when the first FAMLI benefits are paid in 2028. Set aside money for taxes on any benefits you receive and watch for updated IRS guidance closer to the launch.