Massachusetts Paid Family Leave

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act

Effective January 2021, Massachusetts workers will be eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of paid family leave and up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave.  The program will be funded by premiums paid by employees and their employer.  Contributions to the program will begin on October 1, 2019 and any business with at least one Massachusetts employee will be required to remit PFML contributions on their employees behalf.  Employers will be required to file quarterly returns online with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.   

The total contribution rate is 0.750% of eligible payroll and is split between employee payroll deductions and an employer contribution.  The rate is due on wages up to the base limit established annually by the Social Security Administration.  For 2019, the limit is $132,900.00.  

***Employers with fewer than 25 employees must remit contributions but are not responsible for remitting the employer’s share.

If you currently have an active withholding account on MassTaxConnect then there is nothing that you need to do.  A PFML account type will be auto-registered on your behalf with an effective date of October 1, 2019.

If you do not have an active withholding account on MassTaxConnect then you will need to register for a PFML account.  The site will be open for PFML registrations on October 1, 2019 and instructions can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/how-to-register-for-paid-family-and-medical-leave-contributions-without-an-existing .

For further details and to ensure your business is compliant with this new law, please visit https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-family-and-medical-leave