Covered by MA Paid Family and Medical Leave? Don’t forgot about federal FMLA

Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law became effective on July 1, 2021. Under the law, eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 workweeks of family leave each benefit year, including bonding leave following the birth, adoption, or placement of a child and leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition, as well as up to 20 workweeks of medical leave for their own serious health condition. Employees can also take leave in other situations related to military leave. Employees can take an aggregate total of 26 workweeks of PFML in a benefit year, which is far more time than the 12 workweeks of leave offered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Massachusetts PFML runs concurrently with other leaves, including FMLA leave, when leave is taken for a qualifying reason under those leave laws. What employers sometimes forget, however, is that they must still comply with the FMLA regulations, including the designation rules.

FMLA compliance timelines and technical violations