Client Alert: Maryland Passes New Paid Family Leave Law
Date: May 20, 2022
By:
Rafiq R. Gharbi
The legislation specifies that the Maryland Department of Labor must adopt regulations to implement the bill by June 1, 2023, which includes establishing a paid leave fund that collects contributions from employers and employees based on wages.
Employer contributions to the paid family and medical leave program will not begin until 2023 and employees may not apply for benefits until 2025. When the law goes into effect it will dramatically expand the leave rights available to Maryland employees because the law applies to employees and employers who are not covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
When the new paid family and medical leave program begins, employees will be entitled to take up to either 12 or 24 weeks of paid leave per year for the following reasons:
(1) to care for a child during the first year after the child’s birth or after the placement of the child through foster care, kinship care, or adoption;
(2) to care for a family member with a serious health condition;
(3) because the covered individual has a serious health condition that results in the covered individual being unable to perform the functions of the covered individual’s position;
(4) to care for a service member who is the covered individual’s next of kin; or
(5) because the covered individual has a qualifying exigency arising out of the deployment of a service member who is a family member of the covered individual.
Maryland’s new paid leave law is more generous to employees than the FMLA in several key aspects. Employers with one or more employees are covered by the law, as opposed to the FMLA’s 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. Second, the minimum number of hours an employee needs to have worked in the prior 12 months has been reduced from the FMLA threshold of 1,250 hours to 680 hours. Additionally, employees may be entitled in some instances up to 24 weeks of leave in a year, doubling the 12-week entitlement under FMLA. Notably, the Time to Care Act also allows employees to take intermittent leave for all qualifying reasons, while the FMLA does not permit intermittent leave for the birth or placement of a child.
Like under the FMLA, employees are entitled to reinstatement to their former position upon return from leave. However, the law potentially expands the FMLA’s employee job protections by providing that an employee may be terminated only “for cause” while on leave. The question remains as to exactly what would qualify as a “for cause” termination, which is a concern for employers. In the event of a violation, the law allows employees to recover up to three times the value of lost wages and other compensation, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
The Labor and Employment practice group at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston is working with clients to address the changes to leave laws and other considerations impacting employers. As the specifics of the paid family leave legislation become clearer through the development of regulations governing the new program, we will continue to provide updates and advise on the law’s impact on employers of every size. Feel free to contact our attorneys if you would like more information about the new legislation or if you would like us to review your handbook and ensure that your company’s policies comply with relevant state and federal laws.
The information contained here is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion and should not be acted upon without consulting an attorney. Counsel should not be selected based on advertising materials, and we recommend that you conduct further investigation when seeking legal representation.