Employer Deadlines under the Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Program
Starting in January 2028, the Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program will allow Maryland-based employees to take up to 12 weeks off work (or 24 weeks in unusual circumstances) per year to care for themselves or a family member while receiving benefits of up to $1,000 per week (depending on the employee’s average wages). Although these benefits are still more than a year away, there are a number of steps that employers with at least one Maryland employee must take before then.
First, employers must register online with the FAMLI Division of the Maryland Department of Labor. The FAMLI Division has prepared a registration guide to help employers with this process. When an employer must register depends on whether it intends to use an equivalent private insurance plan—rather than the Maryland FAMLI State Plan—to pay out benefits under the FAMLI program. Employers intending to use an equivalent private insurance plan must submit a Declaration of Intent to do so by November 15, 2026. Such employers will therefore want to register online with the FAMLI Division before that date so they can timely file their Declaration of Intent.
Employers who do not intend to use a private plan to satisfy their obligations under the FAMLI program should begin withholding employee contributions from payroll (to be sent to the Maryland FAMLI State Plan) on January 1, 2027. Employers must inform employees about these withholdings (which will be 0.45% of the employee’s wages in 2027) at least one full pay period before the payroll deductions begin. The FAMLI Division has created an email list that employers can sign up for, through which it will send sample notices employers can use when communicating with employees. Even so, it would be prudent for employers to register with the FAMLI Division before they first communicate with employees about these payroll deductions. Employers who fail to withhold the employee contributions from payroll will still be responsible for making contributions to the State Plan.
Second, regardless of whether they use a private plan or the Maryland FAMLI State Plan, employers must start submitting quarterly wage and hour reports in April 2027. Employers using the State Plan will also remit their first payment to the state that same month.
Third, in July 2027, employers will be required to notify employees about their rights under the Maryland FAMLI program. By then, presumably, the FAMLI Division will have created a sample notice that employers can use for that purpose.
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