States Continue to Pass Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws

While the Biden administration’s efforts to implement paid family and medical leave at the federal level appear to be stalled, states are continuing to adopt leave laws that provide workers with paid, job-protected family and medical leave. Colorado, Oregon, and Maryland recently enacted paid leave laws that will be implemented over the course of the next several years. They join seven states and the District of Columbia, whose programs are active as of January 1, 2022. Although many of these programs have common elements, each state’s mandate is different, making compliance and administration challenging for employers operating in more than one state.

The states whose programs are fully implemented include:

• California

• Connecticut

• District of Columbia

• Massachusetts

• New Jersey

• New York

• Rhode Island

• Washington

Employers with workers in these states should be familiar with the state requirements and should have adjusted their leave policies to accommodate for the state mandates. Furthermore, each of these programs are funded through employee-paid payroll taxes, with some also being partially funded by employer-paid payroll taxes, and employers with workers in these states should be making the appropriate contributions to the state programs. Read all about the newest laws here.

Virginia employers must follow the federal FMLA. At the moment, there are no Virginia laws requiring private sector employers to provide employees with additional paid or unpaid sick leave. Read more about Virginia’s FMLA requirements.