MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland workers will soon see a new deduction from their paychecks as the state prepares to launch its Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, known as FAMLI.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, employers and employees will start contributing to the program, which is designed to provide eligible Maryland workers with paid, job-protected leave for certain medical and family circumstances.
The initial contribution rate is 0.9% of wages, up to the Social Security wage cap. For employers with 15 or more employees, that cost is generally split between the employer and worker, with employees contributing up to 0.45% of their wages.
For someone earning $75,000 a year, the employee contribution would amount to about $337.50 annually.
Republican State Sen. Justin Ready argues the additional payroll cost comes at the wrong time.
“It’s going to really hurt people who are right on the edge economically and take money out of their paycheck every week for something that they might get a chance to avail themselves of at some point, but they’ll be paying all the time,” Ready said.
Gov. Wes Moore touted Maryland’s latest state budget as including no new taxes or fees.
FAMLI, however, is separate from that budget, and the state describes the mandatory payment as an insurance contribution.
Employment Attorney Ben Barrlow says that distinction may mean little to workers watching their take-home pay.
“Now we’re in a position where people are already worried about taxes, worried about affordability, worried about gas prices,” Barlow said. “And all of a sudden, we’re going to step in and tell them, well, here’s another small amount of money, admittedly, that’s going to be taken out of your paycheck for a benefit that you can’t use yet.”
That timing is another major part of the debate.
Although workers and employers begin contributing in January 2027, FAMLI benefits are not scheduled to become available until Jan. 1, 2028.
The state says the year-long collection period is necessary to build up the insurance trust fund before claims begin.
Once benefits begin, eligible Maryland workers could receive up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave for qualifying circumstances including childbirth, an employee’s own serious health condition or caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
The debate now centers not only on the benefits workers will eventually receive, but whether Maryland families and businesses can afford another mandatory payroll cost now for a program they will not be able to use until a year later.
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