Paid Family Medical Leave

The Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) law was enacted in 2018. Like all other employers in the Commonwealth, the University is required to comply with the provisions of this law. The University is making this FAQ available in order to provide employees with its best understanding of this law based on the current regulations and guidance. 

The best source of all information related to the PFML law is the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave, which is the newly created state agency that is responsible for implementing the PFML law. For more information about the law, please go to the agency’s website.

Yes. The PFML is a state law and neither employers nor employees can opt out of the provisions of the law. 

Most employees are eligible for coverage under the PFML. However, there are some categories of employees who have been excluded, including student employment positions. Additionally, there are some threshold requirements that must be met by any employees. For example, an employee must have earned at least $4,700 in the past twelve months from a Massachusetts employer in order to be eligible for benefits under the PFML. 

Yes. The law applies to employees regardless of the number of hours they work. However, employees may be excluded from the law for other reasons (see # current 5 above). 

The PFML tax is based on .88% of employees’ gross earnings. The law divides the tax into the following two components: 

• 0.70% of the tax funds the medical leave portion of the new benefit 
• 0.18% of the tax funds the family leave portion of the new benefit 

The law requires all employers to pay 60% of the cost of the medical leave portion of the benefit (meaning .42% of eligible wages). The law does not require employers to make any contribution to the family leave portion of the benefit (meaning 0.18% of eligible wages). 

Example: For an employee with $5,000 in gross biweekly earnings, the total tax would be $44.00 of which $23.00 would be employee tax and $21.00 would be employer tax.  

Yes., the annual cap for 2025 is $176,100. Gross earnings above this amount will not be subject to the PFML tax.  

The amount that will be deducted from employees’ pay will be reflected in the “taxes” section of the pay advice. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is treating this payment in the same manner. In the tax section of the pay advice, employees will see two new tax descriptions, which will be labelled as follows: 

• MA MLI/EE (Medical Leave Insurance) 
• MA FLI/EE (Family Leave Insurance) 

Beginning January 1, 2021, eligible employees are entitled to apply for income replacement and job/benefits protected leave for: 

• Up to 12 weeks in a benefit year due to the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child, or because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a family member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty in the Armed Forces. 
• Up to 20 weeks in a benefit year if they have a serious health condition that incapacitates them from work. 
• Up to 26 weeks in a benefit year to care for a family member who is a covered service member undergoing medical treatment or otherwise addressing consequences of a serious health condition relating to the family member’s military service. 

Beginning July 1, 2021, eligible employees may be entitled to the following: 

• Up to 12 weeks in a benefit year to care for a family member with a serious health condition. 

(A benefit year is defined as the 12 month period following the first day the employee utilized the PFML benefit.) 

Yes. Employees may be eligible for up to 26 total weeks, in the aggregate, of PFML in a single benefit year. An employee’s weekly benefit amount will be based on the employee’s earnings, with a percentage of wages up to a maximum weekly benefit. 

Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum weekly benefit is $1,149.90. 

Effective January 1, 2025, the maximum weekly benefit is $1,170.64.  

No. Although there are similarities between the state PFML and the FMLA, the PFML law actually creates a new type of job and benefits protected leave with some income replacement. In comparison, the FMLA guarantees job and benefits protected leave during which an employee may secure income using accrued time (e.g., accrued sick, vacation or personal leave), but does not provide income without use of accrued time. Eligibility criteria and length of protected leave differ between the laws. 

Not necessarily. Leave taken under the PFML will run concurrently with leave taken under other applicable state and federal leave laws, including but not limited to, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Commonwealth’s Parental Leave Act, when the leave is for a qualified reason under those acts. 

Employees who file a claim and are approved for PFML may supplement or "top off" their PFML benefit with employer-provided paid leave up to the employee's IAWW (individual average weekly wage). 

The current regulations also indicate that in some instances, income provided under a collective bargaining agreement or employer policy (e.g. workers’ compensation or a disability policy) and paid at the same or higher rate than PMFL paid leave may count against the allotment of leave benefits available under this law. 

• For more information about the law, please go to the state’s Department of Family and Medical Leave website. 
• For additional information about the how this law pertains to UMass employees please contact your campus benefits department. 
• Unionized employees should contact their Union officials if they have questions pertaining to bargaining obligations and the implementation of this law.