The new year brings some changes to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program.
As calendars flipped to 2026, Massachusetts employees became eligible to receive an increased amount of PFML benefits. As we have written about in previous articles, PFML entitles eligible employees to receive partial wage-replacement benefits while on leave to tend to a personal health crisis, the arrival of a child, an ill loved one, or an active duty-related emergency. For 2025, the maximum benefit amount was capped at $1,170.64 per week. For 2026, the maximum benefit amount has been increased to $1,230.39 per week.
Importantly for Massachusetts employers, who in the absence of an exemption are required to remit family and medical leave contributions to the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML), the increased amount of weekly wage-replacement benefits available to employees has not resulted in any increase to the PFML contribution rate for 2026. For employers with 25 or more covered individuals, the contribution rate will remain at 0.88% of eligible employee wages. For employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals, the contribution rate will remain at 0.46%. Employers who have received an exemption from their obligation to remit PFML contributions should nonetheless be sure to update their plans to ensure that employees receive the newly revised maximum benefit amount.
Employers should also be sure to update required notice materials. The DFML has now issued...
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