Governor Baker, Legislative Leaders Announce Three Month Delay of Paid Family & Medical Leave Program

Implementation Now Set to Start October 1, 2019

 

Governor Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka released a joint statement Tuesday night to announce a three-month delay to the start of the new Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program.  The program is funded by payroll tax collections from employers and employees, and those collections were scheduled to start on July 1.  The delay now means that collections will begin on October 1, 2019.

The statement read:

"To ensure businesses have adequate time to implement the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, the House, Senate, and Administration have agreed to adopt a three month delay to the start of required contributions to the program.  We will also adopt technical changes to clarify program design. We look forward to the successful implementation of this program this fall."

The delay is not expected to reduce the total amount of contributions to be paid by employers and employees to seed the new family and medical leave trust fund, as the state is expected to increase the required contribution rate from 0.63% to 0.75% of wages.  The delay is not expected to impact the availability of family and medical benefits for workers beginning in January 2021.

All members are strongly advised to visit the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) website to familiarize yourself with your rights and obligations under this complex law.  Also, please continue to check our website for ongoing updates regarding the fluid implementation of this new law.