Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave program preparation

Massachusetts has passed a law that, over a period of five years, will: (1) raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour; (2) mandate paid family and medical leave for Massachusetts employees; and (3) phase out Sunday and holiday premium pay for retail employees.

As part of the new legislation, Massachusetts will offer one of the most generous Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs in the country. Read on to find out more about the law and what you need to do to prepare.

The basics:

Beginning in 2021, most Massachusetts employees will be entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a family member or bond with a new child, and up to 20 weeks of paid leave to address their own serious medical issues.

The program will be funded by a new payroll tax at the initial rate of 0.63%. Benefits amounts will be based on a percent of the employee’s weekly income, up to a maximum of $850 per week.

The law, which was finalized on July 1, 2019, also created the Department of Family and Medical Leave.

Action items:

Although the right to take leave won’t begin until 2021, you will need to take action much sooner.

·     Employers and covered businesses are required to provide a written notice to each Massachusetts employee and self-employed contractor, explaining their rights and obligations under the PFML program. The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave has posted sample notices that you can use to fulfill this requirement. 

·     Employers are required to report worker wages, hours worked and additional information quarterly.

·     Premiums are 0.63% of gross wages up to the Social Security wage limit shared by the employer and employee.

·     The initial medical leave (MLI) contribution will be 0.52% of gross wages. Up to 40% of the contribution can be deducted from employee wages (0.208%).

·     The initial family leave (FLI) contribution will be 0.11% of gross wages. Up to 100% of the contribution can be deducted from employee wages.

·     Ineligible workers will need to be excluded from the calculations. Don’t worry: we’ll send you an email with specific instructions for coding ineligible workers.  

What is ADP TotalSource^® doing to prepare?

We began withholding required premiums for all payrolls processed with pay dates on or after July 1, 2019. 

·       The first PFML taxes and wage reports were sent to the agency on your behalf on July 31, 2019.

·       The premiums for family leave and medical leave will be calculated and withheld separately.  

·       To see an example of how each premium is calculated, please refer to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave website.

Learn more:

Want more information? Explore tons of helpful resources on the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave program website.