Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave: What Employers Should Know

The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, which has provided job protection and benefits since January 2021, helps eligible employees in the state receive benefits when taking paid time off to address family or medical issues. 

What is the Difference Between Federal FMLA and Massachusetts PFML?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that applies to private-sector employers with at least 50 employees, as well as public agencies and local educational agencies regardless of employee count. It provides eligible employees with job-protected, unpaid leave. Massachusetts PFML is a state program that provides job-protected paid leave to eligible employees taking qualified leave. Eligible employees can take both MA PFML and federal FMLA leave if eligible, and they may run concurrently.

Which Employers are Required to Offer MA PFML?

In general, Massachusetts employers of all sizes are covered under PFML, but there are several exemptions. Almost all employers – even those out-of-state employers – with at least one Massachusetts employee, as well as certain independent contractors are subject to the MA PFML requirements.

How is the MA PFML Program Funded? 

Employers and employees contribute to the Massachusetts PFML program. Employers with 25 or more covered employees are required – effective Jan. 1, 2025 – to contribute 0.88% of an employee’s earnings to the Massachusetts PFML program, dividing the contribution between medical leave (0.70%) and family leave (0.18%). Employers have the option to withhold 40% of the medical leave contribution from employee wages or they can opt to pay the amount in part or in full.

An employer with fewer than 25 covered employees is not required to pay the employer share of the contribution, but they have the option of covering some or all the covered employees’ share.

To determine employer size, an employer will calculate the company’s average total workforce. This calculation is the sum of the number of employees, including full time, part-time, and seasonal employees, on the payroll during each pay period, divided by the number of pay periods in the prior year. This is essentially done by taking a raw count of the employees reported without factoring in whether they are full-time, part-time, or temporary.

Employers with an average of more than 50 percent of their workforce as 1099-MISC contractors must include these individuals in the per pay period count.

What are MA PFML Employer Reporting Requirements?

Employers are required to report information that supports the administration of the program, similar to how businesses file state unemployment insurance (SUI). The reporting and payments are due to the state at the end of the month following quarter end. Employers remit this reporting to the state through MassTaxConnect.

Who Qualifies for PFML in Massachusetts?

Eligibility for family and medical leave benefits is determined if an employee meets the financial eligibility test as defined by the state. To qualify for benefits, an individual must have earned enough in wages or contract payments during the preceding 12 months that are subject to Massachusetts PFML contributions. 

Employers (and employees) should know that benefits are transferrable between employers, so wages are cumulative for all employment.

What are Qualifying Reasons for Taking MA PFML?

Qualifying reasons for Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave include:

• Bonding with a new child in the family: Either through birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child up through age 18 within the first 12 months 
• Care of a family member with a serious health condition*: Physical and psychological conditions are eligible, and qualified family members include a child, grandchild, grandparent, parent (including spouse or domestic partner’s parents), sibling, spouse or domestic partner of an employee. This also includes biological, adoptive, foster or stepchildren.  
• Care of a family member who is a covered service member: This generally is to cover recovery for conditions or injuries sustained or aggravated in the line of duty. The time available to care for these family members is typically are more generous than other reasons for leave.  
• Qualifying exigency - active duty or impending active duty in the Armed Forces: Includes a spouse, child, or parent and is similar to qualifying exigencies as defined by federal FMLA. These include but are not limited to leave for issues that arise from short-term deployment, childcare and school activities, and to attend military events. 
• Unable to work due to employee’s own serious health condition: A serious health condition is defined as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential medical facility; or continuing treatment by a health care provider. Continuing treatment by a health care provider is defined by very specific criteria in the proposed regulation.

How Much Paid Time Does MA PFML Provide?

There are limits on the amount of paid leave an employee can take under the PFML. Total combined leave is capped at 26 weeks in a year for all PFML reasons.^ However, each type of leave has its own maximum, including 20 weeks for medical leave, 12 weeks for family leave (bonding with a child, care for qualified family member’s serious health condition – excluding a covered service member – or qualifying exigency for armed services), and 26 weeks for family leave for a covered service member.   

^-Year is a defined under the PFML regulations as a rolling period beginning the Sunday immediately preceding the first day of the leave taken.

What is the Massachusetts PFML Benefit?

The weekly benefit will be 80 percent of an employee’s average weekly wage up to one-half or less of the state average weekly wage (AWW). For an employee whose average weekly wage is more than half of the state AWW, the employee shall receive a benefit rate of 50 percent of that.

An employee’s average weekly wage is derived by using the same base period for state unemployment insurance. For self-employed individuals, the AWW is calculated by taking the two highest-paid quarters in the preceding 12 months and dividing by 26.

The 2024 maximum weekly amount is $1,149.90 for family and medical leave, but by Oct. 1 of each year the amount of the maximum weekly benefit will be adjusted to 64 percent of the state AWW – the adjusted maximum weekly benefit taking effect Jan. 1. In 2025, the cap is $1,170.64.

There are several other aspects of the program that employers and employees must know:

• Usually, there is a seven-day waiting period before paid leave benefits start, but employees may use earned sick, vacation, and other paid leave in those seven days.
• An employer cannot compel an employee to exhaust personal, sick, or vacation time prior to taking leave.
• Massachusetts PFML benefits may be coordinated with or offered concurrently with other company leaves, but the employee must receive the greater of the available benefits across the leaves. The employer also must provide this requirement in written notice to employees.

What Are MA PFML Employer Notification Requirements? 

Employers must post a notice of the program – provided by the state – in a highly visible location and be mindful that there are translation requirements for these notices based on the population of Massachusetts and the language make-up of the employer’s workforce. The poster must be posted in English and also posted in each language that is the primary language of five or more employees, provided such translations are available by the state’s Department of Family Leave. 

Employers also are required to notify new hires within 30 days of their first day of employment of their rights under Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave and must do so with a written statement.

Can Employers Offer a Private Plan?

Employers can choose to opt out of the state plan and offer a private plan, in which the benefits provided are at least equivalent to the state’s PFML program. A private plan may not cost employees any more than they would be required to contribute to the other state plan under the [aid leave law. Employers wishing to opt out of the state plan must submit an application requesting an exemption from the Department of Revenue’s MassTaxConnect.

If the request is approved, an employer providing a paid leave benefit might be eligible to receive an exemption from collecting, remitting, and paying contributions for paid family leave, medical leave, or both under the PFML law.

Employers have requirements if sponsoring a voluntary plan and there are requirements for self-employed individuals who choose to opt-in to MA PFML. Check out the state website for more details. 

Looking forward

Paychex can help employers find the right mix of benefits that attract good talent and then help maintain the well-being of employees. We also can help track employees' time off with time-tracking solutions and provide HR Services to help your business navigate the changing regulatory and legislative landscape.