Paid Family and Medical Leave

Paid Family & Medical Leave Benefits: A huge AFSCME win for State and Higher Education Employees!

Will money come out of my paycheck for this program?

NO! As of July 2026, your FMLA (Family and Medical Leave) is paid and the State of Maryland is covering the full cost of the program.

HOW? Due to our negotiations and the power of our membership, we won a new paid family and medical leave policy in 2024 for state employees covered by an AFSCME union contract.This also includes AFSCME-represented employees at the University System of Maryland (USM), Baltimore City Community College, Morgan State University, and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.This is one of the best paid leave policies in the nation.

What can I use my Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) for?

• You can receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave without touching your accrued leave (or up to 24 weeks in limited situations).
• You are not required to use or exhaust your accrued annual, sick, or personal leave before or during PFML.
• PFML may be taken as continuous leave or on an intermittent or reduced-schedule basis.
• You are eligible for this leave from Day 1 of employment, regardless of hours worked.
• Family member definition has been expanded to include spouse, parent, child (any age), grandparent, grandchild, sibling, and other qualifying relationships as defined by law.

You can use your leave for anything that FMLA qualifies you for:

• Your own injury or illness
• A family member’s injury or illness
• Care for a service member
• Birth of a child
• Adoption
• Foster child

Wait – I have more questions!

Talk to your union representative or email info@afscmemd.org.

You can view your full union contract at afscmemd.org/contracts.

Public Sector Workers: Paid Family Leave is coming and it can be a terrific benefit!

Negotiations are underway about Maryland's new FAMLI program and how these family and medical leave benefits will work for you.

The full benefit will go into effect in January 2028.

What should I know?

• The benefit could cover some or be negotiated to cover all leave at your salary level for when you are taking FMLA.
• You can negotiate more time with your employer – state employees all had parental leave so now they have double!
• You can negotiate on how much employees must pay for this benefit – state employees pay nothing and have paid FMLA now!
  • The maximum amount that an employee would contribute that your local could negotiate with your employer is 0.45% of your pay. This can increase in future years to a maximum of 0.6% of your pay, but this employee contribution can always be negotiated down!
• At minimum, the program must provide for six weeks of paid family leave at a rate of $1000/week. 

Qualifying events include:

• Your own injury or illness
• A family member’s injury or illness
• Care for a service member
• Birth of a child
• Adoption
• Foster child

Wait – I have more questions!

Talk to your local president and union rep, the time is now to win the best possible policy to pay us for the time we need to take off for our health and our families!