Quick Hits
- Beginning no later than January 3, 2028, eligible Maryland employees will be entitled to up to twenty-four weeks of paid family and medical leave for certain specified reasons.
- The MDOL’s FAMLI Division has significantly overhauled its website to provide new and expanded guidance to employers and employees in advance of the start of the paid family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program.
- The FAMLI Division’s employer-focused resources include dedicated webpages, downloadable FAQ documents, and direct contact information, all of which are designed to walk employers through every phase of implementation.
A FAMLI Refresher
In 2022, Maryland enacted the FAMLI program to provide most employees with up to twelve weeks of paid family and medical leave, and a possible additional twelve weeks of parental leave. The details of the program are set forth in our article, Maryland’s FAMLI Program, Part I: An Overview of the Law. Funding for the program through employer and employee contributions will begin on January 1, 2027, and benefits will be available no later than January 3, 2028. The MDOL recently issued extensive final regulations to implement the program, which we discuss in our series, Maryland FAMLI Program Rules, Parts I, II, and III.
Overview of the FAMLI Website’s Employer-Focused Resources
The FAMLI Division’s website is organized into several main sections accessible from a top-level navigation menu: “About the program,” “For employers,” “For employees,” and “Connect with us.” Unfortunately, it is not the clearest or most intuitive of websites. Not all subsections of the website are available from the main menu or sub-menus; for example, the private plans page link is buried in the text of the “For employers” webpage, while the frequently asked questions (FAQs) are only visible through the “Law and regulations” webpage under “About the program.”
The “For employers” section is the primary hub for implementation guidance. This section provides employers with practical information on the online portal registration process, contribution rate calculations and remittance, quarterly wage and hour reporting, leave coordination with existing benefit programs, and equivalent private insurance plan (EPIP) alternatives. Notably, the employer webpage also walks employers through actions they can take right now to prepare for FAMLI, including signing up for email updates, considering whether a state-sponsored plan or a private plan is the right fit, budgeting for contributions, reviewing how existing benefits may interact with FAMLI, discussing payroll system adjustments, selecting the employer’s authorized officer, and beginning employee communications.
The Updated FAQ Documents
As part of the revamped website, the FAMLI Division has published comprehensive FAQ guidance—also broken out into individual FAQ documents on “General Questions,” “Contributions,” “Claims,” and “Private Plans”—on its “Law and regulations” webpage.
Several of the division’s FAQ answers are worth special attention for employers preparing for FAMLI:
- Notification dates. The FAQs clarify that the first FAMLI notification to employees must take place one pay period before payroll deductions begin. Other required notification dates are July 2027 (six months before benefits begin), at hire, annually, when an employee requests FAMLI-qualifying leave, and when an employer knows an employee is taking leave for a FAMLI-qualifying reason.
- Employer EIN. All of an employer’s subsidiaries or subdivisions within its federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) will be registered under that EIN. There will be only one registration per EIN.
- Different contribution benefits for different groups of employees. Although the law allows the contribution amount to be split fifty-fifty between the employer and employee, an employer may choose to cover the employee’s share of the contribution, and may choose to do so only for a select group of employees.
- Contribution payment due dates. Payroll deductions will begin on January 1, 2027, and the first quarterly payment to the state is due April 30, 2027. Going forward, Q1 payments (January 1 through March 31) will be due April 30 of each year, Q2 (April 1 through June 30) will be due July 31, Q3 (July 1 through September 30) will be due October 31, and Q4 (October 1 through December 31) will be due January 31.
- Household and single-employee employers. The FAQ confirms that single-employee or household employers—anyone who pays a salary or wage to at least one person, including families that employ a nanny—are considered employers under FAMLI and must comply with all program requirements.
- No employment category exemptions. Unlike Maryland’s unemployment insurance program, which exempts certain employment categories, FAMLI covers all employment categories without exception. Seasonal, part-time, temporary, and AmeriCorps employees are all covered.
- Federal employees excluded. Federal employees working in Maryland will not be covered by FAMLI and will not be able to opt into the program.
- Employee working for more than one employer. Employees working for more than one employer at the same time will be able to file a claim as to each employer.
- Workers’ compensation. An employee may not receive FAMLI benefits at the same time as workers’ compensation benefits, with a limited exception for permanent partial disability payments.
- Unemployment or retirement. Unemployed or retired employees are not eligible for FAMLI benefits.
- Other assistance benefits. The receipt of benefits other than workers’ compensation or unemployment insurance (e.g., SNAP, WIC, Section 8, etc.) will not impact an employee’s eligibility for FAMLI.
- Employee choice to apply for FAMLI. An employee may choose whether to apply for FAMLI benefits; the employer cannot require them to do so. However, if an employee is using “alternative family purpose leave” (AFPL) (i.e., employer-provided leave specifically designated as a separate bank of time off for medical leave, family leave, qualified exigency leave, or under a disability policy, that is not leave provided under an EPIP), it may be counted against the employee’s FAMLI entitlement.
- No reimbursable employer option. Employers that are accustomed to operating as “reimbursable employers” under the unemployment insurance program (i.e., only paying based on employee usage) should note that FAMLI does not offer a similar option.
- Employer costs and employee usage. Employers in the state plan will not be individually charged more based on their employees’ usage of benefits. Private plans, however, may be structured differently.
- Private plan Declaration of Intent (DOI) window. Employers intending to apply for a private plan in 2027 must submit a DOI to the FAMLI Division between September 1 and November 15, 2026. The FAMLI Division will begin accepting private plan applications once they are available on the market in 2027.
- Switching plans. Employers with a private plan are expected to remain in that plan for at least a year. After that period, an employer may apply to change plans or join the state plan, but there may be significant financial penalties for switching to the state plan during 2028 or 2029, including retroactive contributions plus interest.
Additional Resources and Contact Information
Beyond the webpages and FAQs, the FAMLI Division’s website offers several additional resources. Employers can sign up for the division’s email list to receive program updates, deadlines, and helpful tips. The division also accepts requests to send FAMLI Division staff to employer workplaces or events to walk through the program and answer questions, which employers can arrange by filling out an event request form on the website. For individual questions, the division’s Customer Care Contact Center is available at (410) 525-4010 or paid.leave@maryland.gov, and the division notes that anyone—including employers with private plans—can access this resource.
Ogletree Deakins’ Baltimore office will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Leaves of Absence and Maryland blogs as additional information becomes available.
In addition, the Ogletree Deakins Client Portal provides subscribers with timely updates on state family and medical leave laws, including Maryland’s FAMLI program. Premium-level subscribers have access to comprehensive Law Summaries and updated policies; Snapshots and Updates are complimentary for all registered client users. For more information on the Client Portal or a Client Portal subscription, please email clientportal@ogletree.com.
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