Maryland employers can now register for the state’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, Gov. Wes Moore announced — a milestone in a rollout that has been delayed three times since the program was created in 2022.
Registration is open at paidleave.maryland.gov, and the state is urging employers to sign up as soon as possible ahead of key deadlines still to come. When benefits become available, FAMLI will provide eligible employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected, paid leave — up to $1,000 a week — to bond with a new child, manage a serious health condition affecting themselves or a family member, or handle urgent family needs tied to military deployment.
“Maryland workers deserve time to manage the biggest moments in life — having a baby, tending to a serious health condition, caring for a loved one, or managing urgent family needs — without worrying about their employment,” Moore said. Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu added that the department is working to make registration “as seamless and straightforward as possible” for employers of every size.
The program has had a rocky path to this point. Created by the 2022 Time to Care Act, FAMLI originally called for contributions to begin in October 2024 and benefits to become available in January 2025. Lawmakers pushed that benefits date to January 2026 in 2023, then to July 2026 in 2024, and most recently to January 2028 under a bill Moore signed in May 2025 — an 18-month delay Maryland’s own program materials tie in part to federal-level developments affecting workers and employers. Under the current timeline, employers must begin withholding contributions from paychecks starting with the first pay period of January 2027, with the first payment to the state due April 30, 2027.
All Maryland employers with at least one Maryland-based employee must register, with no exceptions under state law. Employers can either use the state’s own FAMLI plan or apply to offer an equivalent private plan. The program is funded by a combined 0.9% contribution on covered wages, split evenly between employers and employees at 0.45% each for businesses with 15 or more employees. Employers with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from the employer’s share, though they must still withhold and remit their employees’ portion — a small-employer discount the state says covers more than 80% of Maryland employers.
Once fully implemented, FAMLI is expected to serve roughly 2.5 million Maryland workers. Beginning Sept. 1, third-party payroll agents will also be able to handle FAMLI registration and compliance tasks directly on employers’ behalf.
Employers with questions can contact FAMLI’s Customer Care team at (410) 525-4010 or paid.leave@maryland.gov.
