MA PFL is a statewide program that gives eligible employees paid time off to:

• Recover personally from a serious health condition (illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth)
• Care for a family member’s serious health condition
• Bond with a new child during the first year after birth, adoption or foster-care placement
• Attend to a qualifying military event of an active-duty family member
• Care for a covered service member whose serious injury or illness was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty
  
  

Covered family members include spouse, domestic partner, child (biological, adoptive and foster child), parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild and sibling.

Yes. Employers can apply for an exemption for Paid Medical Leave (and go through the state for the Paid Family Leave) or apply for an exemption for both Paid Medical Leave and Paid Family Leave. Unum will have solutions for both! Please contact your Unum representative to obtain the Declaration of Insurance that is required as part of the exemption application.

Once you have your Declaration of Insurance you can begin the exemption application process and through MassTaxConnect. Here is the link to get you started.

If you are offering a private plan only for the medical component of the MA PFML you are still responsible for collecting contributions for the Paid Family leave portion of the program and remitting these to the state by January 31, 2020 for the fourth quarter.

If you choose to self-insure you must work with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts directly to obtain a Declaration specific to self-insured plans as part of the exemption process. In addition, you must furnish a surety bond to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If you are self-insuring please refer to the following bond requirements.

To be eligible for benefits, the employee must have earned at least $4,700 over the 12 months prior to applying for benefits AND 30 times the weekly unemployment benefit amount they are eligible to collect.

All Massachusetts employers are subject to the PFML, with some exceptions:

• Self-employed people and most independent contractors are excluded (they may opt-in).
• Municipal employers are excluded (they may opt-in in some cases).
• Other exceptions may apply. Learn more here.

Massachusetts employers can apply for an exemption from the law if they wish to offer a private plan instead. For approval, they will need to demonstrate that their private plan meets or exceeds the state plan’s benefits.  See details about exemptions and submitting requests here.

Timeline:

 = Employer action

Now     Employers should already be hanging the PFML workplace poster in their workplaces. Download the poster here

Soon     Employers should decide whether to go with the state plan or offer a private plan

7/1/19  Finalized regulations published

9/30/19     Deadline to have given written notice to employees of the law and program, and received a signed acknowledgement from employees of that notice

10/1/19     Payroll withholdings begin for program contributions, for employers who choose to go with the state program

12/20/19   Employer private plan exemption applications for first-quarter contributions due

1/31/20     4th-quarter contributions must be remitted via Mass TaxConnect account, for employers without a private-plan exemption

1/1/21  Benefits available for welcoming a new child, personal medical leave and specific events related to a family member's active-duty military service

7/1/21  Benefits available to care for a family member with a serious health condition

Maximum annual leave duration:

• Family Leave – 12 weeks
• Medical Leave – 20 weeks
• Military Caregiver Leave – 26 weeks
• Combined paid leave per benefit year – 26 weeks

Pay during leave:

• Employees earning equal to or less than 50% of the state average weekly wage receive 80% of their wages. Employees earning more than 50% of the state average weekly wage earn an additional 50% of their wages above that amount
• Maximum weekly benefit – $850

“All employers are required to submit contributions on behalf of all covered individuals in their workforce. Depending on how many covered individuals you had in the last calendar year, you may also be responsible for paying a share of the required contributions this year.” — Mass.gov

Employers with fewer than 25 employees are not required to pay the employer portion of the premiums. Their employees in Massachusetts will still pay into the program and be able to access full leave benefits.

To see if you are responsible for the employer’s share of PFML, use this Mass.gov online tool. A sample result from the tool:

(Applies to employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts)

Employers are responsible for informing their workforce, including certain independent contractors, about the state's Paid Family and Medical Leave law. This includes displaying a Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) approved workplace poster and providing written notice to all employees about PFML benefits. Downloads and templates for these written notices are available here.

Employers need to get a written receipt from employees acknowledging they’ve received notice of PFML benefits or that they refused to acknowledge the provided notice.

Disability plans only pay during the employee's own disability. PFML pays benefits to employees while they take time off from work to bond with a new child, recover from a serious illness or injury, care for a seriously ill family member, or for specific events related to a family member's active-duty military status.

FMLA is an unpaid, job and benefit-protected leave of absence with specific eligibility requirements and covered reasons for leave. Employers must have at least 50 employees to be subject to the FMLA.