Proposed regs serve as reminder for Maryland employers: Paid family leave is approaching

In 2022, Maryland’s General Assembly passed legislation creating a program of paid family leave for Maryland employees under which employees who need to miss work for a qualifying reason will be able to submit a claim for benefits and recoup a portion of the wages they would have otherwise earned. Since the paid family leave statute was first passed, its implementation has been delayed by the General Assembly twice. Currently, payroll tax contributions to fund the program are scheduled to begin on July 1, 2025, with benefits becoming available to Maryland employees on July 1, 2026.

Glimpse at how program will operate

The Maryland Department of Labor (DOL) recently released a set of proposed regulations that offer a glimpse of how the paid family leave program will operate, which can be accessed at the following link: https://labor.maryland.gov/regs/pending.shtml. While the proposed regulations are subject to revision, they provide the most complete look to date at how the program will function in practice.