Skip to main content
  • Find a dentist
  • Find a vision provider
  • Find a financial professional
  • Forms and claims
  • Contact us
Guardian Life Logo
login
Guardian Life Logo
      • Life insurance
      • Disability insurance
      • Dental insurance
      • Vision insurance
      • Accident insurance
      • Critical illness insurance
      • Hospital indemnity insurance
      • Group benefits
      • Absence management
      • Paid family & medical leave
      • Benefits technology
      • Enrollment
      • Mental wellness
    • Retirement
    • Annuities
    • Investment accounts
    • Find a financial professional
      • Learning Center
      • Forms and claims
      • Find a dentist
      • Find a vision provider
      • Find a financial professional
      • Retirement calculator
      • Life insurance quote
      • Disability insurance quote
      • Dental insurance quote
      • Vision insurance quote
      • Accident insurance quote
      • Research and insights
      • Reports
      • Webinars
      • Join as a broker
      • Find a sales office
    • About Guardian
    • Careers
    • Newsroom
    • Contact us
    • Social responsibility
    • Our diverse and inclusive culture
    • an individual or family
    • an employer
    • a broker
    • a dental provider
    • a financial professional
userLog in

Need help? Call us:

(888) 482-7342

Maryland Paid Family and Medical Leave

On April 9, 2022, Maryland passed a Paid Family and Medical Leave program (MD PFML). On May 6, 2025, the governor approved the Maryland General Assembly bill to establish new implementation dates for Maryland’s PFML program.

Important upcoming dates:

  • January 1, 2027: Contributions to the state program begin.

  • By January 3, 2028: Benefits begin.

Important information for MD employers
Mother playing with her baby outside.

Considering a private plan?

The Maryland Paid Family and Medical Leave law allows employers to meet their compliance obligations by either choosing to provide coverage through the state plan or a private plan. The private plan may either be self-funded or fully insured through a state-approved insurance carrier. State approval is required.

Guardian will be offering a fully-insured private plan. Details regarding the private plan application process will be forthcoming.

Guardian can help you manage it all

Effective employee leave management is key to ensuring your business remains compliant with state laws, helping you avoid costly fines.

Guardian has provided employers with statutory disability plans for more than a decade, taking a consultative approach to bring resources together for successful PFML plan implementation and management, no matter the level of complexity. Our management of PFML plans help ensure that any Human Resources team can meet the challenge of efficiently managing employee leaves while helping to ease administrative burden and enhancing compliance. Our plans are fully insured, state-approved, and backed by digital capabilities designed to help make administration easier.

Further, our Guardian absence management solutions can help reduce the administrative burden and enhance compliance with the integrated management of STD and LTD benefits, state and federal family medical leaves, and company leaves. Available to companies with 50 or more employees, employers can choose from a variety of plans and service options, including ADA support.

Information provided on this blog is intended for general educational use. It is not intended to provide legal advice. Guardian does not provide legal services. Consult an attorney for legal advice on this or any other topic.

Links to external sites are provided for your convenience in locating related information and services. Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents, and employees expressly disclaim any responsibility for and do not maintain, control, recommend, or endorse third-party sites, organizations, products, or services and make no representation as to the completeness, suitability, or quality thereof.

Group insurance products are underwritten and issued by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. Products are not available in all states.

Guardian Absence Solutions℠ is a service mark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

Guardian Life Logo

Customer service

  • Contact Us
  • 1-888-Guardian (1-888-482-7342)
  • Submit a Claim

Resources

  • Forms & Claims
  • Find a dental or vision provider
  • Find a financial professional
  • Careers

Industry Professionals

  • Find a Guardian benefits sales office
  • New case implementation tracker
  • Living Balance Sheet
  • instagram squareopens in a new window
  • twitter squareopens in a new window
  • facebook squareopens in a new window
  • linkedinopens in a new window
  • youtube squareopens in a new window

Legal Information

  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Disclosures
  • Individual products benefit disclosures
  • Cybersecurity
  • Accessibility
  • Language assistance
  • Telehealth
  • NY Reg. 200
  • Confidentiality for domestic violence victims
  • SEC Rule 606
  • Amendments to broker agreement
  • State disaster updates
  • IL consumer information
  • MDG TX notice to providers
  • TX consumer information
  • Artificial intelligence statement
  • Agreement to conduct business electronically
  • Report suspected fraud
  • Do not sell or share my personal information
Guardian® is a registered trademark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY.

Copyright© 2025 The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. All rights reserved.

Starting by January 3, 2028, MD PFML will allow paid time off for the following leave reasons:

  • Bond with a new child (birth, adoption, or foster care)

  • Care for a family member with a serious health condition

  • Care for a service member who is the employee’s next of kin

  • Qualifying military exigency arising from the deployment of a service member who is a family member

  • Medical leave for an employee’s own serious health condition

All employers with at least one worker in Maryland will be required to provide paid family and medical leave coverage.

To be eligible to receive benefits, an employee must have worked at least 680 hours in employment located in Maryland during the four most recently completed calendar quarters before the start of their leave.

All employees, inclusive of seasonal and part-time employees, working in Maryland will be eligible for benefits. There are no exemptions.

  • Bond with a new child within one year of birth, adoption, or foster placement

  • Care for a family member with a serious health condition

  • Care for a service member who is the employee’s next of kin

  • Qualifying military exigency arising from the deployment of a service member who is family member

  • Medical leave for an employee’s own serious health condition

Employees may take leave to care for the following family members:

  • Spouse or domestic partner

  • Child (including biological adopted, foster, stepchild, child of whom the employee has legal or physical custody or guardianship, in loco parentis)

  • Parent (including biological, adopted, foster, or stepparent of employee or employee’s spouse)

  • Grandparent (including biological, adopted, foster, or step-grandparent) of the employee

  • Grandchild (including biological, adopted, foster, or step-grandchild) of the employee

  • Sibling (including biological, adopted, foster, or step-sibling) of the employee

Covered employees will receive a weekly benefit that varies depending on their income:

  • 90% of the employee’s average weekly wage (AWW) that is less than or equal to 65% of the state average weekly wage (SAWW), plus

  • 50% of the employee’s AWW that is greater than 65% of the SAWW

For 2028, the maximum weekly benefit will be $1,000 per week, and the minimum weekly benefit will be $50 per week. Both benefits will be subject to change annually.

In an application year, an eligible employee will be entitled to a maximum of:

  • 12 weeks total for any combination of leave reasons

  • An additional 12 weeks is available if, during the same application year, the employee:

    • received medical leave and becomes eligible for bonding leave; or

    • received bonding leave and becomes eligible for medical leave

MD PFML will be funded by employee and employer contributions. Contributions for the state program will begin January 1, 2027. The state rate is set at 0.90% of employee’s wages. The rate is subject to change annually every July 1.

The state rate is statutorily capped, and may not exceed 1.2% of employee’s wages. Wages are capped at the Social Security Wage Base.

Contribution sharing between employers and employees depends on employer size.

  • For employers with 15 or more employees: The employee may be responsible for up to but no more than 50% of the premium, with the employer responsible for the remainder. Employers can choose to cover some or all of the employee’s portion of the premium along with their 50%.

  • For employers with fewer than 15 employees: The employee may be responsible for up to but no more than 50% of the premium. Employers can choose to cover some or all of the employee’s portion of the premium and do not have to pay the employer’s share of the premium.

The Maryland FAMLI (Family And Medical Leave Insurance) Division will release more information about the application process once it has been finalized.

Employers will be required to notify employees about their rights and benefits under the new Maryland Paid Family and Medical Leave law. Maryland FAMLI will provide written notices, and other informational materials that employers can use to meet their requirements.

Maryland Department of Labor