Effective July 1, 2026, most employers are required to provide Paid Family and Medical Leave to their employees who work in the state of Maryland. The MD PFML program is designed to provide employees with the financial support they need during critical life events, such as the birth or adoption of a child, serious illness, or caring for a family member with a serious health condition.

Coverage options: Employers can meet their PFML obligation through a state-run program or by offering a private plan.

Sun Life Solutions: Sun Life offers solutions to meet your PFML needs, including the choice of a fully insured plan or a self-insured plan option.

Employers who choose private plan administration through Sun Life receive:

  • A coordinated experience between PFML, Short-Term Disability and Absence Management Solutions, if applicable. This leads to a better experience for employees, with one claim submission and a single case manager handling the claim for these benefits
  • Robust reporting
  • Excellent claims management and access to return to work services
  • Compliance guidance on PFML and other leave updates

Key dates

  • May 1, 2025 – Declaration of Intent process opens
  • July 1, 2025 – Payroll contributions begin
  • October 2025 – First report and payment sent to the State
  • July 1, 2026 – Benefits begin

MD PFML Overview flyer   

Frequently asked questions

Yes, Sun Life intends to offer both fully insured and self-insured private plan administration for employers.

Yes. While the MD PFML law creates certain paid benefits for leave because of an employee’s own health condition or for covered caregiving reasons, the MD PFML law is not intended to replace benefits provided by employers through Short Term Disability (STD) plans and programs. It is important to know that cancelling STD benefits could leave your employees with a gap in coverage:

  1. Benefit amount for higher-income employees. The MD PFML max weekly benefit may be insufficient for high-income earners who require greater income replacement.
  2. Impact of intermittent leave. MD PFML can be taken intermittently so an employee may substantially reduce and/or exhaust their benefits and be left without income replacement protection if they become continuously disabled thereafter.
  3. STD may offer additional features and benefits. STD policies may include employee-facing features that improve their experience: first-day hospitalization, survivor benefits, and most important, return-to-work and vocational rehabilitation programs. Employees can only access these features if they are approved for STD benefits.

Additional information will be provided when available from the state.

Program highlights

Plan Name

Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML)

Year benefits begin

July 1, 2026 (Contributions begin July 1, 2025)

Coverage options

Private plan, State plan

Types of private plans allowed

Fully Insured, Self-Insured (Sun Life offers administrative support for both)

Employers covered

All employers with one or more employees working in the state

Employee eligibility requirements

An eligible employee is an employee who has worked at least 680 hours over a 12-month period preceding the date on which their leave begins.

Elimination period

0 days

Reasons for leave
  • Covered Individual’s own serious health condition
  • Bonding (within a year of the birth, adoption, foster-care, or kinship care placement of a new child)
  • Care for a family member with a serious health condition
  • Care for a service member who is the covered individual’s next of kin
  • Because of a qualifying exigency arising from the deployment of a service member who is a family member

Benefit duration    

12 weeks for family and medical leave within a 12-month period

Additional 12 weeks of leave benefits if, in the same application year, they:

  • Received benefits because they were bonding with a new child or become eligible to receive benefits to bond with a new child; and
  • Received benefits because of a need for leave for their own serious health condition or become eligible to receive benefits for leave for their own serious health condition.

Benefit calculation
  • 90% of average weekly wages up to 65% of the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW); plus
  • 50% of average weekly wages above 65% of the statewide average weekly wage, up to the maximum weekly benefit amount.

Maximum weekly benefit

2026: $1,000

Minimum weekly benefit

$50

Social Security wage cap

2025: $176,100

State rate

0.90% of wages

Maximum employee contributions

Up to 50% of total premium due

Employer contributions

Shared 50/50 with the employee, or the employer may elect to pay all or any portion of the employee’s share of contributions. The total contribution rate will not exceed 1.2% of wages up to the Social Security wage cap.

State resource

Maryland Department of Labor - FAMLI Division

Sun Life is committed to assisting you in complying with the requirements of the PFML law and with providing valuable employee benefits to your employees. We also offer leave and accommodation services. Please reach out to us and we will evaluate your benefit plans and compliance needs from a holistic perspective and provide guidance and services to meet your and your employees’ needs.

Additional resources

Questions?

Contact your Sun Life Employee Benefits Representative or your benefits broker to learn more.

The information on this page is based on our knowledge of the current PFML law and regulations. Content subject to change. This page is not intended to be and should not be construed as legal advice. Employers are encouraged to consult employment law counsel for legal advice. 

When available, Sun Life’s MD PFML policies will be issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (SLOC) (Wellesley Hills, MA). When available, Sun Life’s self-insured or administrative-services-only MD PFML service will be administered by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, MA). This service is not insurance.

© 2024 Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481. All rights reserved. The Sun Life name and logo are registered trademarks of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. Visit us at www.sunlife.com/us. 

PFMLWC-2196 #1506075573 10/24 (exp. 10/26)