April 9, 2025 - Miles & Stockbridge P.C.
Three years after Maryland’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) was established by the Time to Care Act of 2022 (TCA), the General Assembly on Monday passed House Bill 102, which delays certain dates related to annual reporting and the implementation of the program. Gov. Wes Moore is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming weeks.
The bill would delay when employers and employees must begin submitting contributions for the funding of the program and when eligible employees may begin receiving leave and benefits from the program. The Maryland Department of Labor proposed the delay due to the Trump administration’s policies impacting workers and employers. An unspoken cause for delay, however, was the department had not finalized regulations for the rollout of the FAMLI program.
FAMLI covers all employers with at least one Maryland employee and will eventually provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, with the possibility of an additional 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Following several prior delays, the TCA was to require covered employers to begin contributing to the FAMLI fund starting July 1, 2025, with leave and benefits commencing July 1, 2026.
HB 102 has delayed the contribution date by 18 months, until Jan. 1, 2027. Further, the date employees can start submitting claims for leave and benefits under the act has also been delayed at least six months and as many as 18 months. The secretary of the Department of Labor will determine and announce a new date after which employees may submit claims for leave and benefits. This new date will not be earlier than Jan. 1, 2027, or later than Jan. 3, 2028. There is not a requirement by when the secretary must make this announcement.
HB 102 further amends the TCA by defining an “anchor date” to establish certain reference points for calculation of average weekly wages and eligibility for increases in benefits; requiring the department to adopt regulations governing optional self-employer enrollment; and authorizing the secretary to announce, rather than notify each employer, a certain increase to the maximum weekly benefit amount, among other changes.
Assuming the bill becomes law, Maryland employers should note the new dates discussed above and stay tuned for updated and finalized FAMLI regulations. Although HB 102 effectively delayed the onset of this program for another 18 months, employers can still start taking steps now to prepare for FAMLI to ensure full compliance with the program requirements once it takes effect. Miles and Stockbridge’s labor and employment lawyers will continue monitoring developments related to the implementation of the FAMLI program.
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