Hold your horses—Maryland just added a few more furlongs to its race toward a paid family leave.
On May 6, 2025, Governor Wes Moore signed House Bill 102 (“the Amendment”), which again pushes back the start date for Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI). This latest delay came as no surprise, given Maryland Department of Labor’s (MDOL) proposal earlier this year to extend the FAMLI implementation dates, because of the “high degree of instability and uncertainty for Maryland employers and workers” created by recent federal actions.
As we previously discussed, FAMLI will be funded through contributions from employees and employers with 15 or more employees. Although the Amendment does not alter FAMLI’s funding model, the required payroll deductions, previously scheduled to start on July 1, 2025, will now begin on January 1, 2027. The Maryland Secretary of Labor also now has until March 1, 2026, to set the contribution rates for 2027, and then until November 1st to designate the contribution rate for each subsequent calendar.
Notably, the Amendment does not establish an exact date on which employees can use paid family leave benefits. Instead, the Amendment only directs the Secretary of Labor to announce when the benefits will be available, provided the announcement is not later than January 3, 2028. Previously, benefits were supposed to begin January 1, 2026.
Finally, the minimum and maximum weekly...
DENVER | One of the nation’s most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen while testifying ...