Upcoming State Paid Leave and PFML Developments & Reminders

Written by Erica Honig, J.D., Senior Compliance Director, Employee Benefits | Jul 25, 2024 8:54:47 PM

As the summer months roll on, now is a good opportunity to provide employers with a summary of reminders as well as recent developments and updates with respect to certain state-mandated paid leave and paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs.

For clarity, state-mandated paid leave and PFML laws are separate programs that serve different purposes:

State and local paid leave laws generally require employers to provide paid time off to employees for certain reasons including, but not limited to:
- When an employee is sick
- When an employee’s family member is sick
- When attending a medical appointment for an employer or their family member
- When an employee seeks assistance if they or their family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
- When an employee’s place of business or school/daycare of employee’s child is closed due to a public health emergency
State PFML laws generally require the applicable state (or city for Washington, D.C.), rather than the employer, to provide full or partial wage replacement to employees who need time away from work for certain reasons including, but not limited to:
- Caring for an employee’s own, or a family member’s, serious health condition
- Bonding with a new child
- Supporting a family member who is on active military service duty

Let’s start with several reminders outlined below in case you missed them:

Leave Category	Jurisdiction	Important Date(s)	Important Details
Paid Leave	New York	June 19, 2024	New York State employers are required to provide paid lactation break time for nursing employees. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
PFML	Oregon	July 1, 2024	Oregon’s Family Leave Act (OFLA) was revised to align with the state’s Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) law and simplify leave administration for employers with Oregon employees. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
Paid Leave	Chicago	July 1, 2024	A new Chicago ordinance in effect on July 1, 2024 requires employers to provide their employees working in Chicago up to 40 hours of paid sick leave and an additional 40 hours of paid leave (for any reason) per year. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.

Now let’s focus on the updates for the remainder of 2024:

Category	Jurisdiction	Important Date(s)	Important Details
PFML	Delaware	September 1, 2024 to December 1, 2024	The Delaware PFML online portal opens on September 1, 2024 to submit private plan applications and for small employers to opt into the state public plan. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
PFML	Minnesota	October 31, 2024	The first wage detail reports will be due to the state on October 31, 2024, and will be based on wages paid between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024. Click here for the Minnesota Paid Leave employer FAQs webpage for more information.
PFML	Delaware	December 15, 2024	Deadline to notify state and employees if the employer will contribute more than 50% of the total contribution amount. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.

Finally, let’s outline the developments on the horizon for 2025 and 2026:

Category	Jurisdiction	Important Date(s)	Important Details
PFML	Rhode Island	January 1, 2025	The maximum amount of Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI)* that an employee can take will increase from six weeks to seven weeks on January 1, 2025. On January 1, 2026, the maximum amount of TCI will increase from seven weeks to eight weeks. Additionally, recipients with dependent children under 18 may receive a dependents’ allowance, set to increase to $20 per week on January 1, 2025 (currently set at $10 per week).
PFML	Delaware	January 1, 2025	The start date for employee contribution payroll deductions is January 1, 2025. Delaware PFML benefit effective date is January 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
PFML	Maine	January 1, 2025	The start date for employer (those with 15 or more employees) and employee contributions is January 1, 2025. Maine PFML benefit effective date is May 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
Paid Leave	New York	January 1, 2025	New York will become the first state in the nation to require employers to provide paid prenatal leave for their employees working in New York, starting January 1, 2025. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
Paid Leave	Connecticut	January 1, 2025	Paid sick leave law requirements will be expanded to include more employers and employees in Connecticut. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
Paid Leave	Washington	January 1, 2025	Paid sick leave law requirements expanded to: Change the definition of “family member” to include grandchildren, grandparents, and individuals who regularly reside in the employee’s home or where the relationship creates an expectation that the employee care for the person (and that individual depends on the employee for care). The “family member” definition excludes individuals who reside in the same home with no expectation that the employee care for them; Add a child’s spouse to the law’s definition of “child,” and Add the closure of the employee’s business or their child’s school or place of care after the declaration of an emergency by the federal government or a local or state government or agency as a qualified reason to take paid sick leave.
PFML	Maryland	July 1, 2025	The start date for employer (those employers with 15 or more employees) and employee contributions is July 1, 2025. Maryland PFML benefit effective date is July 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
Paid Leave (COVID sick leave)	New York	July 31, 2025	New York’s COVID-19 sick leave requirements will expire on July 31, 2025. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.
PFML	Minnesota	January 1, 2026	The start date for employer and employee contributions and benefit effective date is January 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details.

*Rhode Island TCI was signed into law in 2013 and currently provides eligible claimants up to 6 weeks of caregiver benefits to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law or grandparent, or to bond with a newborn child, new adopted child, or new foster-care child. Eligible claimants must apply for TCI benefits during the first 30 days after the first day of leave is taken for reasons of bonding or caregiving.

Employer Action

Employers, particularly multistate employers, are advised to pay close attention to any updates and developments that could impact their employees working in the jurisdictions detailed above. These employers are encouraged to work with their employment and labor counsel to:

Review and update their leave policies, procedures, and practices, as necessary
Review and update attendance and payroll systems, as necessary
Train Human Resources team members and other employees who manage employee leaves
Communicate any applicable paid leave/PFML updates to employees in a timely manner

Risk Strategies helps employers navigate the ever-changing and complex state paid leave and PFML landscape. Contact us directly at benefits@risk-strategies.com.

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