HARRISBURG- A few short years after their counterparts in Maryland passed a Family and Medical Leave Act (whose adoption date has been pushed back multiple times), Pennsylvania representatives are pushing for a similar FMLA bill on a state level.
According to its sponsors, House Bill 200, dubbed The Family Care Act, would “support working families by ensuring they never have to choose between their job and their family’s well-being after the birth of a child or during a serious illness.” It would also strengthen small businesses that cannot currently offer this benefit to their employees.
New Jersey now offers 12 weeks of paid leave, Delaware has launched a paid leave program, and Maryland recently passed similar legislation. They are among 14 states and the District of Columbia to have similar legislation in place.
Maryland’s FAMLI (Family and Medical Leave Insurance) was passed after then-Governor Larry Hogan vetoed the 2022 Time to Care Act. The General Assembly would override that veto, with an initial start date of July 1st, 2025. Employer and employee contributions were pushed out to begin on January 1st, 2027 and employee benefits could finally be used in January of 2028.
Current benefits, based on qualifying scenarios, are up to $1,000 a week for 12 weeks with full time, part time, and seasonable W2 employees eligible. Federal employees are not eligible. Contributions are expected at .45% of annual wages for small employers and .90% for large employers. Those small employers (15 or less employees) would see employees themselves pay 100% of the amount. Large employers would split contributions 50/50 with their employees.
“Every family deserves that benefit without worrying if they’re going to get paid,” Rep. Jennifer O’Mara said. “We’re all going to be put in that position, whether we’re taking care of ourselves, our children, or our family, and it’s time that we as lawmakers step up for the people of Pennsylvania.”
“Whether it’s here in Delaware County, in Montgomery County, or in Carbon County, we have Pennsylvanians who are wrestling with that decision,” Rep Napoleon Nelson said. “And they don’t have to. They shouldn’t have to.”
The bill cleared the House Labor and Industry Committee last year and is currently pending before the full House.
