Massachusetts has now joined California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey and Washington State in passing a law providing paid family leave for employees beginning July 1. This law is fully funded through employee and employer contributions.
The PFML program offers up to 26 weeks of paid family and medical leave annually, covering bonding with a new child, service member-related leave, as well as caring for seriously ill family members.
Eligibility
Massachusetts Paid Family Leave is a state-funded program that allows employees to take paid time off work for family or medical reasons. This benefit differs from the federal Family and Medical Leave Act as well as any other leave benefits your employer may provide.
To be eligible for PFML benefits, you must have worked at a Massachusetts employer and earned at least $5,700 (in 2022) or $6,000 (in 2023) over the past 4 calendar quarters. Furthermore, you must have been employed with that same employer for at least 26 weeks immediately prior to applying.
PFML is funded through a tax levied on employers and employees that goes into the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund, separate from the Commonwealth’s general funds.
Benefits
The state-funded Paid Family Leave program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave, offers benefits to workers who require time off work for personal reasons such as caring for a child, bonding with a newborn baby, or recovering from an injury.
PFML can also be utilized for service members on active duty, including preparation for deployment and serious health conditions that affect military personnel. It may be taken for a fixed period or intermittently and has an annual cap of 26 weeks.
Massachusetts employers and employees will contribute payroll contributions to a new state trust fund called the Family and Medical Leave Trust Fund, with an initial rate of 0.63 percent of workers’ wages adjusted annually thereafter.
Waiting period
When taking paid family leave, a week must elapse before using any vacation or sick leave. However, this waiting period does not apply if your medical leave during pregnancy and/or childbirth was supported by documentation from a healthcare provider, followed by either medical or family leave to bond with your newly adopted child (sometimes referred to as maternity or paternity leave).
Employees are entitled to up to 26 weeks of paid family and medical leave per benefit year, including up to 12 weeks for bonding with a child or caring for a member of their family who has a serious health condition.
PFML pays between 60-70% of your weekly wages, up to a maximum of $850. Benefit payments are generally issued in weekly installments starting within 14 days after approval and can also be received as an advanced lump sum payment through Express Pay.
Funding
Massachusetts is one of few states in America to mandate paid family leave. Funded entirely through employee and employer contributions, premiums will begin being deducted from employees’ wages on July 1, 2019, with benefits being available to eligible workers beginning January 1, 2021.
Employers of all sizes will be required to contribute to a Family and Employment Security Trust Fund.
Employers may create private paid leave plans, which must provide all of the same rights, protections and benefits as the state program does. These arrangements can be voluntary or mandatory and require Department approval to go into effect.
