Maryland FAMLI for employees: who qualifies, what you pay from January 2027, and what you get from January 2028

Short answer, as of October 8, 2026: FAMLI is Maryland's paid family and medical leave (PFML) program.

• From January 2027, your employer may deduct up to 0.45% of your wages from each paycheck. On $1,000 that is up to $4.50. Some employers pay it for you.
• From January 1, 2028, FAMLI pays benefits for up to 12 weeks a year, up to $1,000 a week. This needs at least 680 hours of work in Maryland in the 4 calendar quarters before your claim or leave.
• The FAMLI Division lists no step for employees before benefits start (For employees page, read 8 October 2026). This page gives general information, not legal advice.

What you pay (from January 2027)

• The total rate is 0.9% of your wages up to the Social Security wage cap. You pay up to half, 0.45%, and your employer pays the rest.
• "All employees who work in Maryland must participate—you can’t opt out." Contributions "are not refundable."
• If your employer forgets a deduction, "they can’t go back and take it later."
• For tipped workers whose paycheck is too small, the employer has up to six pay periods to collect.
• Details: Maryland FAMLI tax: rate, who pays, when it starts.

What you get (from January 1, 2028)

• Reasons:
  • to bond with a new child (birth, adoption, foster care or kinship care, in the first year);
  • your own serious health condition;
  • a family member's serious health condition;
  • care of a service member, for whom you are the next of kin, who has a serious health condition caused by that service;
  • a need arising from a family member's military deployment (a "qualifying exigency", § 8.3-701).
• How long: up to 12 weeks in a benefit year, which starts on the Sunday before your first day of leave. Up to 24 weeks if the same year has both a new child and your own serious health condition (§ 8.3-702).
• How much:
  • 90% of your average weekly wage, if it is 65% or less of the State average weekly wage; above that, 90% of the part up to 65% of the State average plus 50% of the part above it;
  • at least $50 and at most $1,000 a week through 2028 (§ 8.3-703).
  • The FAMLI Division's example: at $600 a week, the benefit is $540 a week.
• Payment: the first payment comes within 5 business days after approval or the start of leave, whichever is later, then at least every two weeks. "There is no waiting or elimination period."
• More than one job: you can file for leave from each employer in Maryland, and each pays separately.
• More: When Maryland paid leave benefits start.

Your job and your health plan

• When the leave ends, your employer must restore you to "an equivalent position" (§ 8.3-706). During the leave it may end your job "only for cause".
• Your employer continues your health benefits as under the federal FMLA (§ 8.3-707).
• No one may discharge, demote or act against you because you applied for benefits, took the leave or asked about your rights (§ 8.3-904).
• FAMLI leave runs at the same time as FMLA leave (§ 8.3-702(b)). See Maryland parental and family leave laws compared.

Notices from your employer

If your employer collects your share, it must notify you one pay period before deductions begin. From July 2027 every employer must give notices: at hiring, once a year, and when you ask for leave (FAMLI Division, For employers). See Maryland FAMLI employee notices.

• Maternity and paternity leave in Maryland

This is a private website, not a government site. General information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Official site: paidleave.maryland.gov.

Sources and check dates are listed on this page. We re-read the sources before every update and show the date of the last check.