MARYLAND FINDS “TIME TO CARE”

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Patricia Tsipras

April 20, 2022

Another Update:  Once again, Maryland has modified its family and medical leave insurance program – this time, through House Bill 102.  Contributions to the program have been delayed from July 1, 2025 to January 1, 2027, and covered employees’ ability to receive benefits has been delayed from July 1, 2026 to as early as January 1, 2027 or as late as January 3, 2028.  Maryland’s Secretary of Labor has until July 1, 2028, to adopt regulations for an optional self-employed enrollment program.  House Bill 102 also establishes an “anchor date” to determine when an employee is eligible for benefits.  The “anchor date” is the earlier of (1) the date on which a benefits application is complete; or (2) when a covered individual’s leave begins.  To be eligible for benefits, an employee must have worked in Maryland for at least 680 hours in the four calendar quarters preceding the anchor date.

Update:  Maryland lawmakers made modifications to the Time to Care Act through SB485.  Contributions to the family and medical leave insurance program will begin on July 1, 2025, and covered employees can begin receiving benefits on July 1, 2026.  Maryland’s secretary of labor will set the rate of contribution by February 1, 2025, and that rate will be effective from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.  In addition, the definition of “wages” now follows the Maryland Unemployment Insurance’s definition, so employers will not have to calculate two different sets of wages for the two programs.  Lastly, employers who opt to use a private plan in lieu of the leave insurance program will have to pay application and renewal fees.

On April 9, 2022, Maryland’s House of Representatives and Senate passed Senate Bill 275, known as the Time to Care Act, overriding Governor Hogan’s veto of the Bill.  With this Act, Maryland joins nine other states and the District of Columbia in offering paid leave to workers that expands on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  The Act creates an insurance program that will allow workers to take up to 12 weeks (or up to 24 weeks in instances when new parents suffer a serious health condition in the same year) of leave and receive up to 90% of their income, capped at $1,000 per week.

Covered Reasons for Leave
The Act provides for leave to Maryland workers:

• to care for a newborn child or a child newly placed for adoption, foster care, or kinship care
• to care for a family member with a serious health condition
• to attend to the worker’s own serious health condition that prevents the worker from performing the functions of their position
• to care for a military service member with a serious health condition resulting from military service
• to deal with the military deployment of a family member

The Act Broadly Defines “Family Member”
“Family Member” is defined broadly under the Act to include:

• the biological, step, adopted, or foster child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild of the worker
• the worker’s spouse
• a biological, step, adoptive, or foster parent of the worker OR the worker’s spouse
• a child for whom the worker has legal or physical custody or guardianship
• a child for whom the worker stands in loco parentis (regardless of the child’s age)
• the legal guardian of the worker or the ward of the worker OR the worker’s spouse
• an individual who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis to the worker OR their spouse when they were a minor

The Act Expands on the FMLA
Maryland employers of one of more workers are covered by the Act, whereas the FMLA is applicable only to employers of 50 or more.  Workers must be employed for 12 months and work 680 hours in those 12 months to be eligible for paid leave under the Act, whereas the FMLA has a 1,250-hour threshold.  In addition, under the Act, workers may take intermittent leave for each type of covered leave, whereas the FMLA permits intermittent leave for the birth or placement of a child only with the employer’s agreement.

Additional Workplace Protections
Under the Act, Maryland workers on leave will retain their health insurance, and may be terminated only “for cause.”

Penalties for Violations
In the event of a violation of the Act, workers may recover up to three times the value of their lost wages and other compensation, as well as their attorney’s fees.

Effective Dates
Beginning on October 1, 2023, workers, employers, and the self-employed must begin to make financial contributions to the program.  Covered workers can begin to receive benefits on January 1, 2025.

*Special thanks to Ava Petrellese, our Pre-Law Intern through Temple University’s Fox School of Business, and Brooke Palma, our Office Administrator, for their contributions to this article.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania.  This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Maryland, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist.  Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.