State executive employees to get full pay on leave while private workers pay into FAMLI

MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland’s paid family and medical leave program is entering a new phase, but many state employees will be operating under different rules than private-sector workers.

WBFF has been following changes to Maryland’s family leave law as state officials now require employers to register for the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program before payroll contributions begin in January. While many private-sector employees will pay into FAMLI through paycheck deductions, thousands of workers in Maryland’s executive branch will be covered under a separate arrangement.

For most private employees, FAMLI will be funded by a total contribution rate of 0.9 percent of covered wages, with workers typically responsible for up to half of that cost. Up to 0.45 percent of an employee’s wages could be deducted for this benefit, and the program offers partial wage replacement up to a $1,000 weekly cap.

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Ross Manchard With The Taxpayers Protection Alliance says this isn’t fair.

“It’s a travesty and we see this time and time again, not just in Maryland, in states across the country where these state employees get a much better deal than the average show and it costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars per year,” said Manchard.

The state employee program, however, is different. These workers will not pay FAMLI contributions. Instead, under a separate program created by House Bill 1503, qualifying executive branch employees can receive their full regular pay while on leave. This benefit came out of collective bargaining between the Moore administration and state employee unions.

“The state program was very explicitly devised by the General Assembly. And those parameters are laid out in the statute of splitting the contributions between employers and employees,” said Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu.

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Eligibility also varies between the two systems. FAMLI requires most workers to have clocked at least 680 hours to qualify for benefits.

The state’s program does not have this requirement.

Although legislative analysts estimated Maryland could avoid more than $35 million a year in employer FAMLI contributions by using the separate system, this does not necessarily mean taxpayers are saving that amount… the state instead pays for the leave at full salary.

Private employers can offer their own approved plans including benefits that may be more generous than the state program.For Maryland’s own executive branch workforce, the state has already chosen a different path.