Claims information
- In the first six months of the program (FY 2021), DFML approved 43,440 applications.
- Medical leave accounted for 58.13% of applications (25,252 applications).
- Family leave to bond with a child following birth, adoption or foster care placement accounted for 41.81% of applications (18,165 applications). There were no applications for leave to care for a family member in FY 2021, as that leave type was, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175M, not available until July 1, 2021.
- There were 18 applications for military exigency leave (.03% of applications).
- There were 6 applications for leave to care for a service member (.01% of applications).
Approved applications
In FY 2021, DFML approved 43,440 applications. 3,207 of the applications that were initially denied were subsequently approved during the appeals process.
Denied applications
In FY 2021, 9,989 applications were denied, which was 22.99% of all applications.
Reasons for denials
The following categories accounted for the denials issued by DFML:
Demographics
Applicants for paid leave in FY 2021 were not asked about gender or occupation. The data for those areas is incomplete and comes from comparing paid leave benefits applications with data available from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance and the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. In FY 2022, the Department is already asking for gender information directly from applicants and will be asking about occupation later in the year.
Age
Applicants for paid leave benefits ranged in age from teenagers to people 70 and older. The largest share of applicants were individuals in their 30s, with almost twice as many as in any other decade of life.
Gender
More than twice as many women applied for paid leave benefits as men.
Weekly wages
The average weekly wage for DFML applicants was $1434.52.
Occupation
Applicants for paid leave came from a wide variety of industries. The top three sectors who received paid leave benefits were office employees and administrative support, management, and healthcare practitioners.
Types of leave
- 17,916 (45.3%) covered individuals took paid leave for their own serious health conditions.
- 17,346 (43.9%) covered individuals took paid leave to bond with a child.
- 4,236 (10.7%) covered individuals took paid leave related to pregnancy.
- 17 (<.1%) covered individuals took paid leave to manage family affairs while a family member was deployed in military service.
- 6 (<.1%) covered individuals took paid leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition related to their time serving in the military.
Please note that this calculation is made based on the total unique absence cases (n=39,521) rather than unique claim requests (43,440). This means that extensions to claims are only counted once.
Average weekly benefit
During the first six months of the program, the average weekly benefit was:
- $705.98 for family leave
- $699.00 for medical leave
Processing times
To apply for paid leave benefits a covered individual must submit an application and upload supporting documentation. The application is then sent to the employer for review, who has 10 business days to respond to a request of information from DFML. After the employer responds or the 10 business days have lapsed, the claim is adjudicated by DFML and a final decision is reached within 14 calendar days.
In FY21, the majority of applications were submitted by the applicant within a single day (median value = 0 days). The median amount of time for an employer to respond to a request from DFML was 5 days. The median amount of time between when an employer responded and a decision was reached by DFML was 12 days. Combined, the median amount of time from the point at which an individual submitted an application for benefits until they received a decision from the Department was 17 days.
Payment timelines differ by when the application for benefits was submitted in relation to the start of an individual’s leave. For individuals that applied prior to the start of their leave (and were thus subject to a one-week waiting period), the median amount of time between approval and first payment was 16 calendar days. For individuals that applied after the start of their leave, the median amount of time between approval and first payment was 8 days. For all leaves, the median amount of time between approval and first payment was 11 days.
Leave durations
Payment timelines differ by when the application for benefits was submitted in relation to the start of an individual’s leave. For individuals that applied prior to the start of their leave (and were thus subject to a one-week waiting period), the median amount of time between approval and first payment was 16 calendar days. For individuals that applied after the start of their leave, the median amount of time between approval and first payment was 8 days. For all leaves, the median amount of time between approval and first payment was 11 days.
Leave durations
Assuming a five-day work week, the average duration of a leave completed in FY 2021 was 53 days from start to finish, or 10.7 weeks.
For medical leave, the average duration of a leave completed in FY 2021 (assuming a five-day work week), was 57 days or 11.44 weeks.
For family leave, the average duration of a leave completed in FY 2021 (assuming a five-day work week) was 51.5 days or 10.3 weeks.
Open cases
At the end of FY 2021, there were 17,344 open cases, where employees were in the midst of taking their leave. There were 28,057 closed cases, where the leave had been completed.
Total benefits distributed
In FY 2021 (January 1 to June 30, 2021), DFML paid out a total of $167,915,781.01 in family and medical leave benefits.
- Medical leave benefits paid out amounted to $92,047,826.80
- Family leave benefits paid out amounted to $75,867,954.21
| Date published: | January 11, 2022 |
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