Amid federal uncertainties, state officials propose delaying paid family leave — again
The FAMLI program would give Maryland workers paid leave to handle significant medical needs, such as nurturing a newborn baby. But it may be put on hold amid the state's budget uncertainties. (Photo by Oscar Wong via Getty Images)
A long-awaited state program to provide paid family leave for Maryland workers might have to wait a little longer, according to Labor officials.
The Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program is set to begin in July. But amid a $3 billion budget shortfall and rapid-fire policy decisions from the Trump administration, Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu proposes delaying the implementation of the program by 18 months to help the state, employers and workers prepare amid 'huge instability and uncertainty.'
'We just feel like this is the prudent thing to. We're responsible for delivering a system that is going to be effective for workers,' Wu said in an interview Thursday. 'We know to stand that up, it's going to take some time.
'Federal funding freezes, the federal employee impact — all of those have many, many ripple effects here in Maryland,' she said.
Wu called it one of the 'hard decisions' that the administration has had to consider in the 2025 session. But supporters for the FAMLI program fear that another delay could risk the program never taking off.
'More time means more potential backsliding,' said Laura Weeldreyer, executive director of the Maryland Family Network. 'I'm not at all attaching that to the administration … I'm worried about the erosion of the integrity of the statute over the next two years.
'I am extremely disappointed to hear this news,' she said, 'and I'm pretty sad on behalf of the residents of the state of Maryland, who overwhelmingly supported the passage of this legislation.'
Under current law, the FAMLI program calls for the creation of a fund to which employers and some employees would contribute. The fund would be used to grant qualifying workers up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave to handle significant medical situations — such as nurturing a newborn, caring for a family member with a serious health condition or tending to one's own major health needs. Employers would contribute to the state FAMLI fund unless they provided an equivalent benefit for their employees.
Employers, including the state, are currently scheduled to begin collecting payroll deductions in July and providing the FAMLI benefit in 2026.
The program has already faced delays. The 2022 legislation establishing the fund, called the Time to Care Act, was vetoed by then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R), a veto that was overridden by the General Assembly. It was supposed to start issuing benefits by January of this year, but that was postponed for a year by lawmakers.
Now, the labor department is proposing to delay the implementation once more, so that payroll deductions would begin Jan. 1, 2027, and benefits would become available on Jan. 1, 2028.
Wu recognized that there will be disappointment in the new timeline.
'I am personally incredibly passionate about it,' she said, 'At the same time, I think we have to recognize it's a time of huge instability and uncertainty for us right now … it's very uncertain for businesses. We're seeing what's in front of us, and we understand this is unprecedented time in Maryland given what's happening at the federal level.'
'We do need to try to move ahead as quickly as we can,' she said. 'I wish we weren't in this situation but it's the reality of where we are.'
But Weeldreyer argues that the instability of at the federal level is exactly why a FAMLI program is needed now.
'To me, it is the argument to move forward with implementation of this program,' she said. 'Wouldn't it be nice for residents in the state of Maryland to know that, in what feels like a very challenging world right now, the state is here with an important safety net if things get hard for your family?'
The administration's proposal is similar to a bill sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Upper Shore) that would delay the FAMLI implementation for two years due to the state's grim fiscal outlook, with payroll deductions beginning July 1, 2027 and the benefits would be available on July 1, 2028. Senate Bill 355 had a hearing in committee last week, but has not advanced further yet.
Hershey proposes delaying long-awaited paid family leave in tight budget year
'I'm happy to work with them [the administration] because while we are evaluating programs that are already in place with respect to the fiscal budget, this was a program that has not yet started. It was something I thought we could delay the implementation of,' Hershey said. 'I'm happy that they're at least looking at things in a fiscally responsible way with respect to this program.'
Wu said that the department is willing to work with Hershey or any other lawmaker.
'Senator Hershey's bill is a longer delay than what we are proposing,' she said. 'We understand that this has to be subject to legislative debate … We will put forward language to try to accomplish it, but it needs to go through the legislative process.'
Wu said that despite the need to delay the program, she promises that implementing the FAMLI act is a still a priority for the administration.
'We'll have to weather the storm, like we have many others, and we're confident that we're going to get there,' she said. 'It is a little later than we would have liked, but this is the new timeline we're proposing.'
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