Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)
Massachusetts
Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML)
Effective: 01/01/21
Last updated: 09/11/24
State website: www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-family-and-medical-leave
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (MA PFML) Plan Details
Summary:
State or private plan: (insured or self-insured). |
|
Mandatory coverage: For all public and private employers in Massachusetts, except municipalities, districts, political subdivisions and authorities, churches, railroad workers, and other excluded employment. |
|
Waiting period: 7 consecutive calendar days. |
|
Benefit duration: 20 weeks Massachusetts Paid Medical Leave (MA PML); 26 weeks Care of Service Member; 12 weeks all other Massachusetts Paid Family Leave (MA PFL). |
|
Total combined maximum duration: 26 weeks per benefit year, including the waiting period(s). |
|
Maximum benefit: $1,149.90. |
Coverage details |
Symetra offers an insured MA PFML plan for employers who have group life or disability coverage with Symetra or, for groups with 200 or more lives who have our FMLA administration, we can provide ASO services for an employer’s self-insured private plan. |
Covered employers |
All employers with one or more eligible employees working in Massachusetts are eligible, except municipalities, districts, political subdivisions or authorities (whose governing body may vote to opt-in to MA PFML), railroad workers, churches, religious organizations, or other excluded employment as detailed: Employers and employment excluded from Paid Family and Medical Leave | Mass.gov. An employer may be considered to be a “Covered Business Entity” if they contract with self-employed individuals for services and are required to report the payment for services to such individuals on IRS Form 1099-MISC for more than 50% of its workforce. |
Covered individuals |
Covered individuals include the following individuals who meet the eligibility requirements, including the Financial Eligibility Test:
|
Contribution amount |
|
Waiting period |
|
Benefit calculation |
|
Maximum weekly benefit amount |
64% of the State Average Weekly Wage, which equals $1,149.90. |
Minimum weekly benefit amount |
Not applicable. |
Other income amount offsets |
Benefits are reduced by other income amounts, including direct offsets for workers' compensation, unemployment income, state or federal disability law, and permanent disability, as well as 100% backdoor offsets with temporary disability or MA PFML plans of the employer or wages from another employer. |
Maximum duration: Medical leave |
20 weeks, including the waiting period(s). |
Maximum duration: Family leave |
|
Maximum duration: Combined medical and family leave |
26 weeks in a benefit year, including the waiting period(s). |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is coverage continued after termination of employment?
Yes. An employee continues to be covered under the employer’s plan for not more than 26 weeks after separation or until re-employed, whichever comes first.
What are the qualifying leave reasons?
The qualifying reasons for MA PFML include all of the following reasons:
- To bond with a child during the first 12 months after the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement;
- To care for a family member’s serious health condition;
- To care for a family member who is a covered service member;
- A qualifying exigency arising out of a family member’s active duty or impending call to active duty in the armed forces; or
- The covered individual’s own serious health condition that incapacitates the individual from performing the essential functions of the individual’s job.
What is the definition of family member?
Family member means the following:
- The covered individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent;
- The parent of the covered individual’s spouse or domestic partner;
- A person who stood in loco parentis to the covered individual when the covered individual was a minor child, a child for whom the covered individual stands in loco parentis, or a person to whom the covered individual stood in loco parentis when the person was a minor child; or
- A grandchild, grandparent or sibling of the covered individual.
What is the taxable wage base?
The Average Weekly Wage for benefits and contributions is capped at the Social Security Maximum of $168,600 in 2024, and is updated annually.
What is the State Average Weekly Wage?
The State Average Weekly Wage is $1,796.72 for 2024 and is updated annually.
How do we determine the benefit year?
The benefit year is defined as the period of 52 consecutive weeks beginning on the Sunday immediately preceding the first day that Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits commence for the covered individual. It is calculated on a 12-month, rolling-forward basis. The benefit year determines the benefit rate, which will stay the same for the entire benefit year, even if the covered individual files multiple applications or takes different types of leaves.
Does a relapse period apply to recurrent leaves?
No. Not applicable.
Is payment to the employer allowed for advance payments of benefits?
Yes. Under Symetra’s private plan, the MA PFML payment may be sent to the policyholder if the policyholder gives us prior notice that they have made an advance payment of the MA PFML payment to the covered individual.
Can leave be taken on an intermittent leave basis?
Yes. Leave is allowed on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. An employer may require that intermittent or reduced leave be taken in increments consistent with the established policy that the employer or covered business entity uses to account for use of other forms of leave, provided that the minimum designated time period cannot be in increments less than 15 minutes or more than 60 minutes.
Intermittent or reduced leave for bonding requires employer agreement with the schedule. Intermittent or reduced leave for a serious health condition (whether the covered individual’s or family member’s) is allowed if medically necessary. Intermittent or reduced leave is allowed as needed for military exigencies.
Under the state plan, the DFML will accumulate intermittent leave until the earlier of eight hours or more of accumulated intermittent leave or 30 days from first date of leave if employee has not used eight hours.
How are benefits prorated?
- The benefit is prorated based on how much leave is taken.
- A covered individual who takes leave on an intermittent leave or reduced leave basis will receive a MA PFML benefit, including maximum MA PFML benefit, that is reduced in direct proportion to the intermittent leave usage or reduced leave schedule. A proportionate reduction will also be taken to the covered individual’s available allotment of leave under the maximum duration of benefits.
Is MA PFML leave job protected?
- Yes. Job protection and non-retaliation provisions apply for employees.
- The employer’s share of health insurance benefits must be paid during a period of leave at the level and under the same conditions of coverage that would have been provided if the employee continued working continuously for the duration of the qualified leave period.
- An employee who returns to work after a qualified leave period retains the right to accrue employee benefits at the same level the employee had prior to taking the leave.
- Leave taken under the policy runs concurrently with leave taken under other applicable state and federal leaves, including but not limited to Massachusetts’ Parental Leave Act, the FMLA, and Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Time Act when the leave is for a qualified reason under these acts.
How does accrued paid leave apply to use of MA PFML?
Accrued paid leave is defined as leave earned by or otherwise provided to a covered individual pursuant to a benefit plan or policy offered by an employer or covered business entity, if applicable, including, but not limited to, sick leave, annual leave, vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, or paid time off.
The covered individual may choose to supplement their weekly benefit amount with accrued paid leave before the period. It is subject to the accrual and use rules of their employer's paid time off policies. If accrued paid leave is paid during a period of paid family or medical leave benefits, it is the employer's responsibility to cap the accrued paid leave so that the total income replacement does not exceed 100% of the covered individual’s Average Weekly Wages.
Important Information:
Filing for a private plan exemption
- The private plan must be filed with and approved IN ADVANCE by the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML); Symetra can help you with any questions you may have on the exemption process and provide you with the documentation you need to complete the filing.
- The private plan will be effective on first day of the calendar quarter following approval (although there may be some leeway if moving from a private plan to a private plan)
- The private plan must be equal to or better than the state plan, with no greater burden or hardship to the employee. The employee cannot be required to pay more for the private plan than they would have paid under the state plan, though the employer can always pay more.
- An insured plan must be issued through an insurer like Symetra that has an approved MA PFML insurance policy filed with the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.
- A self-funded private plan’s exemption filing with the DFML also requires a surety bond that runs to the Commonwealth.
- Private plan exemptions must be renewed prior to their expiration date (which is usually four quarters).
Please click the following link for a DFML summary of the requirements for the private plan exemption process: Benefit requirements for private paid leave plan exemptions | Mass.gov and the following link for specific steps to Request a Paid Family and Medical Leave Exemption | Mass.gov. You may also refer to Symetra’s Group Life and Disability - MA PFML - Filing an Exemption Flyer- For Employers (PDF) for more information.
Employer private plan reporting requirements
2024 Fiscal Year Important Dates:
7/1/24 The DFML report submission opened.
8/31/24 The DFML report submission closed.
State Plan: Employers with a state plan must submit quarterly employment and wage detail reports to DFML via MassTaxConnect.
Private Plans:
- Fully-Insured PFML: Carriers upload an aggregated report for the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).
- Self-Funded PFML: Employers upload separate reports for each FEIN, for the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).
For detailed data requirements, refer to the DFML Private Plan Employer Reporting Template: https://www.mass.gov/doc/dfml-private-plan-employer-reporting-template and https://www.mass.gov/info-details/employer-private-plan-reporting-obligations
Reports are submitted here: https://www.mass.gov/forms/pfml-private-plan-annual-reporting
Symetra Life Insurance Company, 777 108th Avenue NE, Suite 1200, Bellevue, WA 98004.
First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York, New York, NY. Mailing address: P.O. Box 34690, Seattle, WA 98124.
Symetra Life Insurance Company is a direct subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation. First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York is a direct subsidiary of Symetra Life Insurance Company and is an indirect subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation (collectively, “Symetra”). Neither Symetra Financial Corporation nor Symetra Life Insurance Company solicits business in the state of New York and they are not authorized to do so. Each company is responsible for its own financial obligations.
Symetra® is a registered service mark of Symetra Life Insurance Company.
Symetra assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or timeliness of any information provided herein. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel. We recommend employers speak with legal counsel specializing in labor and employment law to ensure compliance with applicable PFML and PFL mandates.
The information on this page was updated as of September 2024.