Short-Term Disability in Massachusetts: Eligibility, Pay, and Filing

Massachusetts does not run a traditional short-term disability program, so short-term disability in Massachusetts is handled through the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) system. If a serious health condition keeps you from working, PFML replaces part of your wages for up to 20 weeks per benefit year, with a maximum payment of $1,230.39 per week in 2026. You apply through the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML), usually online, and benefits start after a seven-day waiting period.

Who Qualifies

PFML covers most people who work in Massachusetts, including workers whose employer is based in another state. Full-time, part-time, and seasonal W-2 employees are all included. Certain 1099-MISC contractors are covered too, specifically those whose contracting business issues 1099-MISC forms to more than half its workforce. Self-employed workers can opt in. If you own a business and pay yourself through a W-2, you’re already covered.¹ If you’ve recently left a job, you remain eligible for up to 26 weeks after separation.

You also have to clear two financial tests. Your total wages during the base period (the last four completed calendar quarters) must meet a minimum threshold set annually by the Department of Unemployment Assistance; that figure was $6,300 in 2025. Your base-period wages must also be at least 30 times the weekly benefit amount you’d receive. And PFML contributions must have been paid on your wages in at least two of the four base-period quarters.¹ Wages from multiple employers in the base period can be combined to hit the threshold.

What Counts as a Serious Health Condition

A few days home with the flu won’t qualify. Your condition must be a physical or mental health issue that prevents you from doing your job for more than three consecutive days, and it must involve at least one of the following:

An overnight stay in a hospital or other medical facility
Two or more treatments by a healthcare provider within 30 days of the onset
At least one treatment by a healthcare provider within 30 days, combined with an ongoing treatment plan (which can include prescriptions)²

Surgeries, cancer treatment, severe back injuries, pregnancy complications, mental health conditions requiring ongoing care, and flares of chronic illness all commonly qualify. What matters is that a healthcare provider certifies the condition on the DFML’s official form, with the provider’s license number included. Screenshots of medical records or general doctor’s notes won’t be accepted.³

How Much You’ll Be Paid

Your weekly benefit is calculated by comparing your individual average weekly wage (IAWW) to the state average weekly wage (SAWW), which is $1,922.48 for 2026. The formula has two tiers. The portion of your IAWW at or below 50% of the SAWW ($961.24) is replaced at 80%. Anything above that threshold is replaced at 50%. The maximum weekly benefit is capped at 64% of the SAWW, or $1,230.39 per week in 2026.⁴

A couple of examples. If your average weekly wage is $900, your benefit is 80% of $900, or $720 per week. If your average weekly wage is $1,500, you get 80% of the first $961.24 ($769) plus 50% of the remaining $538.76 ($269.38), for a total of about $1,038.38 per week.

A seven-day waiting period applies at the start of each new leave in each new benefit year. You won’t receive any payment during those seven days, and the waiting period counts against your total 20 weeks of medical leave.⁵

You don’t have to take all 20 weeks in one stretch. PFML allows continuous leave, a reduced schedule (fewer hours or days on a consistent weekly pattern), or intermittent leave taken as needed, which is common for chronic conditions that flare without warning. Intermittent leave requires you to log the leave hours you use through your account or by phone, and you need to complete the seven-day waiting period and report at least eight hours of leave before a payment is issued.⁶

How to Apply

First, Check for a Private Plan

Before applying to the state, find out whether your employer uses a private paid leave plan. Massachusetts allows employers to opt out of PFML if they offer an approved private plan with benefits at least as generous as the state program. If your employer has one, you file with that private insurer instead of the DFML. Your HR department can tell you which applies. Either way, you keep the same legal protections: job reinstatement, protection against retaliation, and the right to appeal.⁷ Everything below describes the state process; private plan timelines and steps may differ.

What to Gather

Before you start:

A driver’s license, state ID, or other government-issued identification
Your Social Security Number or ITIN
Your employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), which appears on your W-2
Bank routing and account numbers if you want direct deposit
The completed “Certification of Your Serious Health Condition” form from your healthcare provider

The medical certification is where applications most often stall. Get the form to your provider well before you plan to apply, because offices sometimes take a week or more to complete it.

Filing and Timing

Apply online at paidleave.mass.gov using a MyMassGov login. You can submit up to 60 calendar days before your leave is expected to start, which is worth doing for planned surgeries or scheduled treatment. If your leave is unplanned, notify your employer as soon as you can and file retroactively; you have up to 90 calendar days after your leave began to submit a retroactive application.⁸ Self-employed workers, unemployed applicants, and those applying for military-related leave should start by phone through the DFML Contact Center.

Once you file, the DFML notifies your employer within five business days. Your employer has 10 business days after that to review the application and provide any additional information. The DFML then issues a decision within 14 calendar days of receiving a complete application.⁸ If approved, your first payment usually arrives two to four weeks after your leave starts, or about two weeks after approval if your leave is already underway.

Your Job and Health Insurance While You’re Out

PFML leave is job-protected under state law. When your leave ends, your employer must return you to the same position or to an equivalent one with the same pay, status, benefits, and seniority. Two narrow exceptions apply: if coworkers in comparable positions were laid off due to economic conditions during your leave, or if your job was for a specific project that ended while you were out.⁹

Your employer must continue your health insurance on the same terms as if you were still working, paying the same share of the premium they normally cover. You keep paying your usual employee contribution. Vacation accrual, sick time, and seniority can’t be reduced because you took leave, though time on PFML doesn’t have to count as credited service for vesting or benefit accrual.⁹

Taxes and Other Disability Payments

PFML medical leave benefits are partially taxable at the federal level. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 2025-4, the portion of your benefit funded by your employer’s contributions is included in your federal gross income, while the portion funded by your own payroll contributions is excluded.¹⁰ If your employer has 25 or more covered workers, the employer pays 60% of the medical leave contribution, so the DFML withholds federal income taxes on 60% of your payment. If your employer has fewer than 25 covered workers, the entire medical leave contribution comes from you, and no federal income taxes are withheld.¹¹

When you apply, you can elect to have 5% withheld for Massachusetts state income tax and 10% for federal income tax (or a custom federal amount using IRS Form W-4S). If you skip withholding, you’ll owe the taxes at filing. In January you’ll receive a 1099-G reporting the total benefits paid.¹¹

Other income during your leave can affect the amount you receive. Workers’ compensation benefits directly reduce your PFML benefit, with a narrow exception for a pre-existing permanent partial disability that predates your PFML application. Employer-provided short-term or long-term disability payments work differently: you can collect both, but your PFML benefit is reduced if the combined total exceeds your average weekly wage.¹² You won’t lose out by having an employer disability policy, but you can’t stack the two to earn more than your regular pay.

If You’re Denied

You have 10 calendar days from the date you receive the denial notice to file an appeal. If you miss the deadline, you can still request an appeal, but you’ll need to show good cause for the delay. If the DFML can’t resolve the matter informally, they schedule a virtual hearing, usually two to four weeks after the appeal is filed, with at least 10 days’ notice. A new decision is issued within 30 days of the hearing, and if the case is approved on appeal, changes take effect within two to four weeks after that.¹³

If your employer uses a private plan and your claim is denied, appeal first through that private carrier. Only after the private carrier denies your appeal can you bring the matter to the DFML.¹⁴

1
Mass.gov. Your Eligibility for Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
2
Mass.gov. Paid Family and Medical Leave – Medical Leave to Manage Your Own Serious Health Condition
3
Mass.gov. Health Care Provider Responsibilities for Paid Family and Medical Leave
4
Mass.gov. How PFML Weekly Benefit Amounts Are Calculated and/or Changed
5
Mass.gov. PFML Frequently Asked Questions for Employees
6
Mass.gov. Understanding the Different Ways You Can Schedule Your Leave
7
Mass.gov. Applying for a Private Paid Leave Exemption
8
Mass.gov. Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Application Approval Timeline
9
Mass.gov. Notices, Appeals, and Employee Protections Under Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
10
Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Rul. 2025-4
11
Mass.gov. Taxes on Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Benefits
12
Mass.gov. How Other Leave and Benefits Can Affect Your Paid Family and Medical Leave
13
Mass.gov. Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Appeals Timeline
14
Mass.gov. Appealing a Paid Family or Medical Leave Decision