What is Maryland’s Paid Family Leave Law (FAMLI) in 2025?

Maryland’s landmark Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program goes live in 2028, and that means a big shift for employers: mastering new payroll withholdings, eligibility rules, job‐protection mandates and notice obligations before the first leave request ever arrives.

At Deel, we’ve built our PEO platform to make state-specific compliance simple. This guide explains how Maryland’s FAMLI program works, what your HR and payroll teams need to do right now to stay ahead, and how Deel PEO can support you.

Backed by our global expertise and seamless, in-house workflows, you’ll walk away ready to transform FAMLI compliance from a potential headache into a strategic advantage for your business and your people.

What is Maryland's paid family leave law?

The Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) will provide paid leave for up to 12 weeks.

This benefit is not in effect: Contributions will start on January 1, 2027, and employees will be eligible to apply for benefits starting on January 3, 2028.

Eligibility for Maryland’s paid family leave

Starting in 2028, anyone who works at least 680 hours in Maryland in the 12 months before they apply for leave is eligible for this leave

The law applies to all employers with at least one employee working in Maryland, excluding companies whose owner is the sole employee.

Maryland FAMLI funding

Contributions are calculated based on wages up to the Social Security cap of $176,100.
Employers with 15 or more employees are required to contribute. Employers with fewer than 15 employees are only required to collect and remit employee contributions.

See also: Your Ultimate Guide to Maryland Payroll

What FAMLI Maryland covers

Employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave in any single benefit year, calculated as the first Sunday of the week in which an application for benefits is first made. Employees who experience a serious health condition and qualify for parental leave may take an additional 12 weeks.

Covered family members include:

• Employee’s biological, step-, adopted, or foster children
• Employee’s children in legal or physical custody or under guardianship
• Employee’s children for whom an employee stands in loco parentis (no age limit)
• Employee’s or spouse’s biological, step-, adoptive, or foster parents
• Employee’s legal guardian or employee’s or spouse’s ward
• Individuals who acted as a parent or stood in loco parentis to an employee or the employee’s spouse during childhood
• Employee’s spouse or domestic partner (an undefined term under the statute or general Maryland law, which does not recognize domestic partnerships)
• Employee’s biological, step-, adoptive, or foster grandparents or grandchildren
• Employee’s biological, step-, adoptive, or foster siblings

Maryland FAMLI benefits

The exact amount of the benefit will vary and will be calculated by the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund (FAMLI), administered by the Department of Labor. The maximum weekly entitlement will be capped at $1000 per week.

Job protections under FAMLI Maryland

The Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program will provide job-protected leave for employees.

See also: An Employer's State-by-State Guide to Paid Sick Leave in the US

How to claim FAMLI benefits

Employees can start claiming this benefit on January 3, 2028.

Notification requirements

Employers are required to notify employees about the program:

• Six months before benefits commence
• When an employee is hired
• Once a year
• When the employee requests leave
• When the employer knows that an employee's leave request may qualify

Federal FMLA and Maryland Family Medical Leave

If an employee qualifies for both job-protected paid leave under the Maryland law and job-protected leave under the Federal FMLA, the paid leave will run concurrently with and not in addition to any federal protected leave.

Keep compliant with Deel PEO

New to managing parental and family leave laws in Maryland? With Deel PEO, you can offload compliance risks and processes to ensure state-specific alignment.

• Fully in-house operations for improved support and workflows
• Expert payroll administration, HR, and benefits compliance
• Exclusive Aetna International benefits plans for W2 employees travelling abroad
• Built-in compliance for local and federal coverage
• 60+ domestic benefits plans with Fortune 500-caliber benefits
• Trainings, HR policies, and on-demand HR support
• And more

To learn more about how you can use Deel PEO to scale in the US, book a 30-minute call with one of our dedicated experts.