Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave FAQs

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet for the public option. For the private plans, there are premiums that are paid by the employer and the employee. The employee portion is paid through payroll deductions. The employer cannot deduct in excess of the state-allowed contributions.

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet

Answer: Refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet and our Massachusetts Leave Income Replacement Illustrations

Answer:

• Display the MA PFML Poster in a conspicuous place
• Provide written notice to your current workforce (W2 employees and, if applicable, their 1099-MISC contractors) of PFML law, benefits, contribution rates, and other provisions (outlined in M.G.L 175M sec. 4). The employee notice, which may be provided electronically, must include the opportunity for an employee or self-employed individual to acknowledge receipt or decline to acknowledge receipt of the information.
• New-Hire documentation, updated to include the MA PFML Notice, is sent within 30 days of hire/contract.

The Commonwealth has published a downloadable template in the Informing your workforce section of their PFML website, or employers can create their own.

Answer: The state program is funded through premiums equal to 0.75% of each employee’s wages, up to the Social Security maximum. Employers share the costs with their employees and, beginning October 1, 2019, started withholding employee contributions through payroll deductions. The employer remits premiums collected to the state on a quarterly basis.

A private plan can be fully insured or self-funded. Under a private plan, the employer will pay the premium or, if self-funded, fees and the cost of claims. The employer is responsible for any premium or fees/claim costs in excess of the state employee contribution amount, but they can also choose to pay more.

Answer: Yes, most carriers offer Private Plan Coverage down to 10 employees; while there are exemptions, this is generally what we are seeing.

Answer: MA PFML allows employers to opt out of either the state Family Leave or state Medical Leave plan if they have a state-approved private Paid Family Leave, Paid Medical Leave, or Paid Family and Medical Leave plan that offers comparable or more generous benefits than the state plan:

• Private plans need state approval.
• The employee contribution amount for a private plan is the same as for the state plan.
• Private plan exemptions will need to be renewed and obtain state approval each year.
• If a private plan exemption is approved, employers must still remit contributions to the state until the first day of the quarter on which the approval becomes effective.
• Employers may contribute more or waive employee contributions if they wish.
• Self-insured plans must be bonded.

Answer: Both under public and private plans, determinations for benefits will be based on:

• Confirmation that the employee provided proper notice to their employer
• Employee’s financial eligibility test (income earned in Massachusetts)
• Certification for leave requested
• Employer approval of leave
• If employee has taken or plans to take leave per benefit application
• Any other relevant information

Answer: Both under public and private plans, the employer and employee will receive notice of the decision.

An approval will include:

• Approval of the reason for leave;
• Duration;
• Frequency — continuous/intermittent;
• Expiration; and
• Benefit payment amount.

Denial will include:

• Reason for denial of the leave and
• Appeal rights.

Answer: Employees may ask for an extension of benefits by filing an extension which may include additional certifications:

• Within five business days, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) will contact the employer with a request to reply to the extension of benefits.
• Within 10 business days, the employer will need to respond to the DFML, including requests for recertification following the expiration of any prior certification confirming the period of incapacity.

Answer: The DFML will use the wages submitted by all employers to calculate the employee’s weekly benefit. The DFML has published a benefit calculator that estimates the benefit.

• Every October, the weekly benefit will be published with the January 1 effective date.
• The portion of the worker’s average weekly wage that is equal to or less than 50% of the state average weekly wage will be replaced at a rate of 80%.
• The portion of the worker’s average weekly wage that is over 50% of the state average weekly wage will be replaced at rate of 50%.
• MA PFML defines benefit calculation, and the maximum payout is 65% of the state’s average weekly wage ($850).
• As of January 1, 2020 Massachusetts’s average weekly wage is $1,431.66.

Answer: “Average weekly wage” is an amount equal to one twenty-sixth of the total wages reported for an individual in the two highest quarters of his/her base period, provided that wages reported include not more than two quarters in that base period. His/her weekly wage shall be deemed to be one thirteenth of the total reported for the highest quarter. If the weekly wage includes a fractional part of a dollar, it will be raised to the next highest dollar.

Answer: Under the public option, No. The employee will choose PFML payments or PTO payments; they cannot receive both payments for the same days. Employees may choose to use PTO/accrued paid leave at the same time they qualify for benefits; however, if they do, DFML will count the days so the PFML benefit and PTO run concurrently. Employers are required to notify employees that choose to receive PTO instead of the state paid benefit, that the leaves will run concurrently to provide job protections under MA PFML.

Under the private option, the carrier can determine if they will allow benefit “stacking”. This determination will be made at the carrier level. Most of the carriers that HRK works with have stated they have requested that the from the DFML to allow the use of accrued PTO up to 100% of pre-disability earnings. However, not all carriers have received approval yet from the DFML for this exception and others will mirror the regulations of the DFML.

Answer: Yes refer to our MA PFML Fact Sheet. Employees will be allowed to use accrued paid time off to collect up to 100% of pay during the 7-day wait period; however, that time will still count against the total leave allotment.

Answer: The majority of existing STD policies already allow benefits to be reduced by any government compulsory benefit plan (such as DFML medical benefits from a PFML plan) or program that provides payment for loss of time from the employee’s job due to disability, whether such payment is made directly by the plan or program, or through a third party. Please review your STD policy for additional details or contact HRK if we are your benefit broker.

Answer: Each carrier will handle this differently. Many of the carriers HRK works with will have one integrated claim form; for the carriers that do not, most of them will coordinate the claim intake (i.e., have the same claim examiner who will handle both the STD and PFML claim) when there is overlap.

Answer: There is no formal answer yet; however, it is anticipated that employee contributions should be withheld on a post-tax basis. The Commonwealth has requested guidance from the IRS on this question and others related to the tax implications of PFML contributions and benefits. State PFML tax issues are part of the IRS’s 2020 Priority Guidance Plan, which identifies the IRS’s top priorities for guidance for the coming year. Until IRS guidance is issued, individuals and businesses are urged to consult with their own tax advisors on these questions.

Based on its own review of federal rules and following consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the DFML anticipates that the IRS will conclude that employee contributions should be withheld from after-tax wages. A definitive rule for the proper tax treatment of contributions will be available once IRS guidance is issued. The Department of Revenue has not yet commented regarding whether PFML benefits would be considered taxable income — except to say that the tax treatment of PFML benefits is governed by federal tax law.

Answer: Generally, the DFML follows the same eligibility criteria as the unemployment insurance program in Massachusetts. If you are required to report a W-2 employee’s wages to the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), those employees should be counted. These employees don’t need to reside in Massachusetts to be covered. If the employee is paying Massachusetts state income taxes, they should file and collect unemployment from Massachusetts.

Answer: The new Massachusetts PFML will impact STD benefits for clients and their employees. To help make administration easier, most of the carriers we work with will be processing automatic STD rate reductions on Massachusetts policies to offset amounts employees will receive from the state.