2024 Brings Increased Contribution Rates Under the State Paid Family and Medical Leave Law for Massachusetts Employers

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Andrew M. DeLucia

January 2, 2024

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) announced changes to employer contribution rates and weekly benefit amounts under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (PFML), effective January 1, 2024.  The PFML provides employees with paid time off each benefit year for qualifying medical (up to 20 weeks) or family (up to 12 weeks) reasons, with a combined maximum of 26 weeks.  The program is funded through both employer and employee contributions.

The PFML (enacted in 2018) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (which provides up to 26 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave) are separate laws that cover similar situations, but differ in several ways.  For example, some employers that are exempt from FMLA may be subject to PFML and be required to collect and make PFML contributions.  In addition, PFML eligibility is not dependent on how long an individual has worked for a current employer, whereas the FMLA requires at least 12 months of employment and at least 1,250 hours worked.  To qualify for paid leave under PFML, an employee must have earned at least $5,700 in the previous 12 months.

Massachusetts employers who participate in the PFML program are responsible for sending family and medical leave contributions directly to the DFML on behalf of their covered individuals.  Logistically, employers withhold PFML contributions from employees’ paychecks.  Employers with 25 or more covered employees in its workforce also are required to send an employer contribution.  If the employer has fewer than 25 employees, it must remit the employees’ mandatory contribution only.

In 2024:

• For employers with 25 or more covered individuals, the contribution rate has increased from 0.63% to 0.88% of eligible wages up to the Social Security taxable maximum. The 0.88% contribution rate is divided between required medical leave contribution of 0.70% and family leave contribution of 0.18% of an individual’s eligible wages.  Employers may withhold up to 0.18% of eligible wages for an individual’s family leave contribution and up to 0.28% of eligible wages for an employee’s medical leave contribution.  Employers must contribute the remaining 0.42% of eligible wages on behalf of employees for medical leave.
• For employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals, the contribution rate increased from 0.318% to 0.46%. The 0.46% contribution rate is divided between medical leave contribution of 0.28% and family leave contribution of 0.18%.  Employers may withhold the entire contribution from an individual’s eligible wages.
• Employers with an approved self-insured or private plan are not required to make PFML contributions; however, these employers must update their plan to reflect the new employee contribution rates and maximum benefit amounts.
• The maximum weekly benefit amount that an employee is eligible to receive in PFML benefits will be $1,144.90 per week (an increase of approximately $15 from 2023).

Employers are required to provide notice of these changes to their employees.

As a practical matter, employers should evaluate the impact of the new contribution rates (and the potential of future increases) and consider if a private fully insured or self-funded plan—which would require DFML approval—makes economic sense.  Additional information and resources concerning the PFML can be found on the State’s website here.

*Special thanks to Ava Petrellese, our Paralegal, for her contributions to this article. 

The author of this article, Andrew M. DeLucia, is a member of the Bars of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, 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.