Notice and Acknowledgement for the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Law for Executive Department Employees

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as your employer, is required to provide notice of the benefits and the employer/employee contributions for the Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

Explanation of Benefits

Paid Family and Medical Leave

• Beginning January 1, 2021,
  • Employees may be entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid family leave in a benefit year for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child, or because of a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a family member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty in the Armed Forces.
  • Employees may be entitled to up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave in a benefit year if they have a serious health condition that incapacitates them from work.
  • Employees may be entitled to up to 26 weeks of paid family leave in a benefit year to care for a family member who is a covered service member undergoing medical treatment or otherwise addressing consequences of a serious health condition relating to the family member’s military service.
• Beginning July 1, 2021,
  • Employees may be entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid family leave in a benefit year to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

Employees may be eligible for up to 26 total weeks, in the aggregate, of paid family and medical leave in a single benefit year.

An employee’s weekly benefit amount will be based on the employee’s earnings, with a maximum benefit of $1,084.31 per week.

Job Protection, Continuation of Health Insurance and No Retaliation

• Job Protection: Generally, an employee who has taken family or medical leave under the law must be restored to the employee’s previous position or to an equivalent position, with the same status, pay, employment benefits, length-of-service credit and seniority as of the date of leave.
• Continuation of Health Insurance: The employer must continue to provide for and contribute to the employee’s employment-related health insurance benefits, if any, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued working continuously for the duration of such leave.
• No Retaliation: It is unlawful for any employer to discriminate or retaliate against an employee for exercising any right to which such employee is entitled under the paid family and medical leave law.  An employee or former employee who is discriminated or retaliated against for exercising rights under the law may, not more than three years after the violation occurs, institute a civil action in the superior court.

Employer/Employee Contributions to the DFML Family and Employment Security Trust Fund

• On October 1, 2019, contributions to the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) Family and Employment Security Trust Fund will begin on wages paid after that date. As your employer, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is responsible for sending contributions to the DFML for all employees.
• Under the law, employers are permitted to deduct from employees’ wages up to 40% of the medical contribution and up to 100% of the family leave contribution.
• Effective January 1, 2022, the total contribution required by the DFML is 0.68% of wages.
• As an employee of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, your contribution will be 0.3434%% of your wages during 2022; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will contribute the remaining 0.3366% of the required .68%. This equals an approximately 50/50 split share in contributions.

How to File a Claim

• Employees must file claims for paid family and medical leave benefits with the DFML using the Department’s forms. Forms and claim instructions are available on the Department’s website www.mass.gov/DFML.
• Employees are required to provide at least 30 days’ notice to their employer of the anticipated starting date of any leave, the anticipated length of the leave and the expected date of return. An employee who is unable to provide 30 days’ notice due to circumstances beyond his or her control is required to provide notice as soon as practicable.

The Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) Contact Information

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave
Charles F. Hurley Building
19 Staniford Street, 1^st Floor Boston, MA 02114
[phone]
www.mass.gov/DFML

Payment for Concurrent Leave

• Any paid leave provided under a collective bargaining agreement or employer policy and paid at the same or higher rate than paid leave available under this law shall count against the allotment of leave benefits available under this law.

More Information is Available

For more detailed information, please consult the Department’s website: www.mass.gov/DFML.

For communications related to this program, please note the following contact information:

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Human Resources Division
Employee Service Center
[e-mail]
617-979-8500
Employer ID# 04-6002284

Please return to the MassCareers website which is open in another window to complete your acknowledgement. Thank you.