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 in the family 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.

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 law. There are two exceptions:

• Self-employed people and independent contractors are excluded (they may opt-in).
• Municipal employers are excluded (they may opt-in in some cases).

Timeline:

 = Employer action

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 employee program contributions

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

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 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:

Massachusetts employers can apply for a Paid Family and Medical Leave exemption but will need to demonstrate that their private plan meets or exceeds the state’s plan for approval. See details about exemptions and submitting requests here.

Employers are responsible for informing their workforce, including 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.