The Family and Medical Leave Act in Maryland works on two tracks. The federal FMLA already gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for a serious health condition, a new child, or caregiving for certain family members. Starting in January 2028, Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI) adds up to 12 weeks of paid benefits on top of that, capped at $1,000 per week, and it covers more workers and more family relationships than the federal law does. Payroll contributions that fund FAMLI begin January 1, 2027, so deductions will start showing up on paychecks a full year before anyone can file a claim.
Who Qualifies Under Each Law
The two programs use different tests, and plenty of Maryland workers who fall short of the federal rules will still qualify for state paid leave.
To take federal FMLA leave, you have to meet all three conditions: at least 12 months on the job with your employer, at least 1,250 hours worked in the 12 months before your leave starts, and an employer with at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of your worksite. Anyone at a smaller business is out, even after years of service.
FAMLI is much broader. You qualify if you’ve worked at least 680 hours in a Maryland-based position during the four most recently completed calendar quarters before you file your claim or your leave begins. Employer size doesn’t matter, so workers at small businesses are covered, and the lower hour threshold brings in a lot of part-time and seasonal employees who could never meet the federal bar.
Reasons You Can Take Leave
Both laws cover a similar list of life events:
- Bonding with a new child, including a child placed through adoption, foster care, or kinship care during the first year after placement.
- Your own serious health condition, meaning one that requires hospitalization or ongoing treatment by a licensed provider.
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Military-related needs, including obligations tied to a family member’s deployment or caring for a service member with a service-connected serious injury or illness.
Under the federal FMLA, military caregiver leave runs up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period, though 26 weeks is the combined total for all FMLA reasons during that period.
Family Members: Where FAMLI Goes Further
The federal FMLA limits family caregiving leave to your spouse, children, and parents. FAMLI’s definition of family is much wider and includes:
- Spouse or domestic partner
- Biological, adopted, foster, or stepchildren
- Parents, including stepparents and parents of your spouse
- Grandparents and grandchildren
- Siblings, including stepsiblings
- Legal dependents (anyone for whom you or your spouse has court-appointed decision-making authority)
- Anyone who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis when you or your spouse was a minor
That last category catches relationships federal law ignores, such as a stepparent no longer married to your birth parent who nonetheless raised you. Caring for a grandparent, a sibling, or a domestic partner is a FAMLI-qualifying reason even though the FMLA doesn’t cover it.
How Much Leave and How Much It Pays
Both programs generally provide up to 12 weeks in a 12-month period. Federal FMLA leave is unpaid but job-protected, with continued group health insurance on the same terms as if you were still working. FAMLI provides up to 12 weeks of paid benefits per qualifying event. If you experience your own serious health condition and also welcome a new child in the same benefit year, you can receive up to 12 weeks for each, for a combined total of up to 24 weeks.
FAMLI benefits are calculated from your average weekly wage against the state average weekly wage, using a two-tier formula:
- If your average weekly wage is 65% or less of the state average, you receive 90% of your weekly wage.
- If your wage is above that 65% mark, you receive 90% of wages up to the threshold plus 50% of wages above it.
No one collects more than $1,000 a week regardless of the formula. Lower earners replace a larger share of their income; higher earners hit the cap sooner.
When FMLA and FAMLI Both Apply
If your situation qualifies under both laws, the leaves run concurrently. You don’t get 12 unpaid weeks under the FMLA followed by 12 paid weeks under FAMLI. FAMLI puts money behind time that the FMLA already protects.
Some situations qualify for FAMLI only. If your employer has fewer than 50 employees, if you’ve logged 680 Maryland hours but haven’t reached 1,250 federal hours, or if you’re caring for a sibling, grandparent, or other family member outside the FMLA’s narrower list, you can claim FAMLI without using any FMLA entitlement, because you don’t have one.
Payroll Contributions Starting January 2027
FAMLI is funded through shared payroll contributions. As reaffirmed in April 2026, the total rate is 0.9% of wages, applied to payroll beginning January 1, 2027.
- Employers with 15 or more employees split the cost. The employer pays 0.45% and may withhold up to 0.45% from employee paychecks.
- Employers with fewer than 15 employees aren’t required to pay the employer share. They only remit the employee’s 0.45% contribution, which they can withhold or choose to cover themselves.
The first employer contribution payments are due in April 2027, covering the first quarter of withholdings. The Maryland Department of Labor announces updated rates annually.
How to Apply for FAMLI
You can apply up to 60 days before or after your leave starts, through the state-run portal administered by the Maryland Department of Labor. Health-related claims need medical certification from a licensed provider documenting the condition and the amount of leave supported. Bonding claims need birth records or legal documentation of an adoption, foster care, or kinship placement.
If your need for leave is foreseeable, give your employer 30 days’ advance notice. When an emergency makes that impossible, notify your employer as soon as you can. Your employer is also notified when you file a claim, whether under the state plan or a private plan.
The formal appeals process for denied claims is still being finalized. As of mid-2026, proposed regulations covering disputes were under development, with detailed procedures and deadlines expected to be in place by the 2028 launch. If a claim is denied, keep your documentation and check the Maryland FAMLI website for updated guidance.
Taking Leave in Pieces
FAMLI allows intermittent leave. You can take time off in separate blocks, whether a few hours, a full day, or multiple days, depending on your situation. Under the state plan, the minimum increment is four hours unless your scheduled shift is shorter. Private employer plans may allow smaller increments.
Work out an intermittent schedule with your employer in advance and give notice before each absence. If you skip the notice, your employer must contact the FAMLI Division before disciplining you. Intermittent approvals last up to one year and only cover the period your provider certifies; a condition that runs longer requires a new claim. You also have to update your claim within 10 days if anything changes, including the reason for leave, the start or end dates, or how much leave you need.
Job Protection and Retaliation
Under the FMLA, your employer must restore you to the same or an equivalent position with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions, and must maintain your group health insurance during your leave.
Under FAMLI, your employer holds your position during approved leave and you should return to the same or an equivalent role. Job protection and anti-retaliation coverage begin on the date your FAMLI benefits are approved. If your employer provides late information that causes benefits to be revoked, you keep the benefits already paid, and job protection applies for the period between approval and revocation.
Employers must provide written notice of FAMLI rights at hire. Retaliation for requesting or taking FAMLI leave is prohibited, meaning your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, or take other adverse action because you used the program.
If Your Employer Uses a Private Plan
Employers can provide FAMLI benefits through an Equivalent Private Insurance Plan instead of the state program. A qualifying private plan has to offer benefits and protections at least as good as the state plan, cover all employees, and keep employee contributions at or below what they’d pay under the state. Your experience with claims processing and leave increments may differ depending on which route your employer uses, so it’s worth asking your HR department which plan applies to you.
The Maryland Flexible Leave Act Is Separate
Don’t confuse FAMLI with the Maryland Flexible Leave Act, which is a narrower right that already exists. At employers with 15 or more employees, that law lets you use paid leave you’ve already accrued (sick, vacation, or compensatory time) to care for an ill immediate family member or for bereavement. Immediate family under this law is limited to a child, spouse, or parent. The Flexible Leave Act doesn’t create new leave; it prevents your employer from blocking you from using paid time you’ve already earned for these purposes.