---
title: "Maryland Paid Family and Sick Leave 2026"
description: "Maryland gives earned sick leave at 1 hour per 30 worked, paid at 15+ staff. FAMLI is enacted at 0.9% from 2027. Federal FMLA holds the job."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/paid-family-and-sick-leave
---

United States · Maryland · Leave child

Served by Teamed US Inc., Delaware · Payroll via SUNA Solutions

# What *paid family and sick leave* does Maryland require in 2026?

One programme is live and one is enacted but not yet collecting. Maryland earned sick and safe leave accrues 1 hour per 30 hours worked and must be paid at employers with 15 or more staff. FAMLI, the state paid-leave insurance, is law at a 0.9% contribution, but withholding does not begin until 2027. Federal FMLA holds the job in the meantime.

Last reviewed 6 June 2026 · Maryland, United States guide

![The Annapolis waterfront at dawn, sailboats moored along the City Dock, brick colonial streets climbing to the Maryland State House dome and Chesapeake light on the water.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/paid-family-and-sick-leave/images/hero.webp)

Illustration · Annapolis, Maryland

Maryland sits between a no-programme state and a full paid-leave state. One mandate is live today: earned sick and safe leave under the [Healthy Working Families Act](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/labor/eslaws/eslearnmore.shtml), accruing 1 hour per **30 hours worked** and **paid** at employers with 15 or more staff. A second is enacted but not yet collecting: [FAMLI](https://paidleave.maryland.gov), the state Family and Medical Leave Insurance programme.

If you read FAMLI as a live 2026 payroll line, you are early. Contributions of **0.9% of wages** do not begin until 2027 and benefits arrive in 2028. For now the live floor is sick leave from your first hire plus [federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) at **50 employees**. The job in 2026 is to run sick leave correctly and stand FAMLI up before the withholding date. See how Maryland compares to [Virginia](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/virginia/paid-family-and-sick-leave) and [Pennsylvania](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/pennsylvania/paid-family-and-sick-leave), where the leave rules differ.

## What paid leave must Maryland employers provide in 2026?

Two programmes apply; only one runs on your 2026 payroll. [Earned sick and safe leave](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/labor/eslaws/eslearnmore.shtml) applies today from your first hire. [FAMLI](https://paidleave.maryland.gov) is enacted but withholds nothing until 2027.

Earned sick and safe leave reaches every employer from the first hire, paid at 15 or more staff and unpaid below that. FAMLI will add a 0.9% payroll contribution once withholding starts. Check your wage and hour obligations alongside leave in [Maryland wage, overtime and meal break law](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law).

| Programme | What it provides | Status in 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Earned sick & safe leave](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/labor/eslaws/eslearnmore.shtml) | 1 hour accrued per 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year | Live; paid at 15+ staff, unpaid below |
| [FAMLI paid family & medical leave](https://paidleave.maryland.gov) | Up to 12 weeks, up to $1,000 a week | Enacted; 0.9% contributions begin 2027, benefits 2028 |
| [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) (floor) | 12 weeks unpaid, job protected | Live; applies at 50+ employees |

The mistake that catches out-of-state employers is treating Maryland as a single coastal paid-leave state. You are running two timelines at once. Sick leave is your first-hire obligation right now, with a paid-versus-unpaid line drawn at 15 employees. FAMLI is a future obligation you register for and budget before it switches on, not a 2026 deduction. For context on what you owe from day one, see [Maryland state tax and unemployment insurance](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance).

## How much earned sick and safe leave does Maryland require?

Every Maryland employee accrues earned sick and safe leave at **1 hour for every 30 hours worked**, up to **40 hours a year**, with no employer-size threshold on the accrual itself.

Employers with **15 or more employees** must make that leave paid. Employers with 14 or fewer must provide the same accrual unpaid. The rule comes from the [Maryland Healthy Working Families Act](https://www.labor.maryland.gov/labor/eslaws/eslearnmore.shtml), administered by the [Maryland Department of Labor](https://www.labor.maryland.gov).

Covered uses are broad: your employee's own illness, care for a family member, maternity or paternity needs, and safe time related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Unused leave carries over up to 40 hours into the next year, and you may cap annual use at 40 hours and total accrual at 64 hours.

Montgomery County runs its own earned sick and safe leave ordinance on top of the state floor, so a more generous local rule applies where it differs. A national policy that accrues less than 1 hour per 30 worked, or that treats this leave as unpaid at a 15-plus-employee company, is short on every Maryland payroll. See how Virginia handles similar employer obligations in [Virginia paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/virginia/paid-family-and-sick-leave).

| Sick-leave dimension | 2026 rule |
| --- | --- |
| Accrual | 1 hour per 30 hours worked |
| Annual accrual | Up to 40 hours |
| Carry-over | Up to 40 hours, 64-hour total cap |
| Paid vs unpaid | Paid at 15+ staff, unpaid below |

## Is Maryland FAMLI live in 2026, and what will it cost?

No. [FAMLI](https://paidleave.maryland.gov) is enacted into law but is **not yet collecting** in 2026. Contributions of **0.9% of covered wages** begin in 2027, and benefit payments begin in 2028.

When it starts, the 0.9% contribution splits evenly, **0.45% employer** and **0.45% employee**, up to the Social Security wage cap. Employers with fewer than 15 employees withhold the employee share only.

Maryland passed [FAMLI](https://paidleave.maryland.gov) in 2022 and has pushed the start date back more than once. The current law moves withholding to the first pay period of 2027 and makes benefits available in 2028, so there is no FAMLI deduction on a 2026 Maryland payslip and no claim to file yet. Running the 0.9% rate as a live cost this year overstates the deduction.

The work in 2026 is preparation, not payment. Once live, FAMLI will pay up to 12 weeks of leave in an application year, capped at $1,000 a week, with a longer combined entitlement where two qualifying events fall in the same period. Budget the 0.45% employer share into 2027 forecasts and register with the [Maryland FAMLI portal](https://paidleave.maryland.gov) before the withholding date so the first quarterly remittance is clean. Pennsylvania is further along its paid-leave journey; compare in [Pennsylvania paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/pennsylvania/paid-family-and-sick-leave).

| FAMLI dimension | Enacted rule |
| --- | --- |
| Contributions begin | 2027 (first pay period) |
| Benefits begin | 2028 |
| Contribution rate | 0.9% of wages to the Social Security cap |
| Split | 0.45% employer / 0.45% employee |
| Benefit | Up to 12 weeks, max $1,000 a week |

## How does federal FMLA interact with Maryland leave?

[Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) gives up to **12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave** at employers with **50 or more employees** within a 75-mile radius. In 2026 it is the only job-protection floor above Maryland sick leave.

FMLA holds the job; Maryland sick leave covers shorter absences with pay at 15-plus staff. Once FAMLI is live in 2027, the state will pay wages while FMLA continues to hold the role, and the two will usually run concurrently.

US DOL Wage and Hour Division · FMLA

Your 50-employee threshold counts your entire US workforce, not just Maryland headcount. Eligibility needs 12 months of tenure and 1,250 hours worked. Below that line, Maryland earned sick and safe leave is the only paid floor and there is no state wage-replacement programme yet.

Source: [US Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Act](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

For 2026 the sequence is: FMLA preserves the role for the 12-week period at 50-plus employees, while paid earned sick and safe leave covers shorter, paid absences. [FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) adds up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave on top. The [Pregnant Workers Fairness Act](https://www.eeoc.gov/pwfa) requires reasonable accommodation at any employer with 15 or more employees, separate from any leave entitlement. For the termination rules that sit alongside these leave protections, see [Maryland termination law and at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions).

## What pregnancy and accommodation protections apply in Maryland?

Federal and Maryland law both apply. The [Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)](https://www.eeoc.gov/pwfa) requires reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions at any employer with **15 or more employees**.

Maryland's own pregnancy-accommodation rules sit alongside it at a 15-employee threshold, and earned sick and safe leave already covers maternity and paternity uses for every accruing employee.

Between 15 and 50 employees there is a real gap on job-protected time off for the birth itself. The [PWFA](https://www.eeoc.gov/pwfa) covers accommodation such as modified duties, schedule changes, time off for appointments and lactation breaks, but [FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)'s 12-week job hold does not apply until 50 employees, and FAMLI wage replacement is not live until 2027.

For 2026 that gap is filled by Maryland earned sick and safe leave, which accrues at 1 hour per 30 worked and covers maternity and paternity needs, plus whatever paid parental leave you write into the offer. The PUMP Act gives nursing employees break time and a private space at almost every employer. Use the [employer cost calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to model the full Maryland employment cost, including the 0.45% FAMLI share from 2027.

## How Teamed runs Maryland leave end to end

Teamed becomes your [legal employer of record](/employer-of-record) in Maryland for [**from $599 per employee per month flat**](/pricing), with **zero FX mark-up**. We run earned sick and safe leave accrual and the 15-employee paid threshold, FMLA tracking, and FAMLI registration ahead of the 2027 start.

**Real HR and legal experts** handle your Maryland hires on **one platform**, an actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, alongside a US compliance team.

What that looks like, day to day: the sick-leave ledger accrues 1 hour per 30 worked, applies the 15-employee paid rule and the Montgomery County overlay by work location, and caps carry-over at 40 hours; FMLA eligibility is tracked across your whole US payroll against the 50-employee threshold; and [FAMLI](https://paidleave.maryland.gov) is registered and the 0.45% employer share budgeted before the 2027 withholding date so you are not scrambling when it switches on.

There is **no setup fee and no exit fee**, and statutory employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice. Contractor onboarding, EOR payroll and entity graduation all live on **one platform**: a Maryland contractor who converts to W-2 keeps their record, and that same employee can **graduate** from EOR to your own US entity without switching systems. Use the [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Maryland hire, **until it isn't**.

Teamed Legal Operations

Maryland is the timing trap. The live obligation is earned sick and safe leave, paid from your first hire at fifteen or more staff, and that is where the day-to-day compliance work sits in 2026. FAMLI is real, but it is a 2027 contribution and a 2028 benefit, so anyone running it as a live deduction this year has the calendar wrong. Get sick leave right now, register for FAMLI before the withholding date, and do not pay the state a premium the statute has not yet switched on.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

Maryland runs leave on two clocks. Sick leave is live today, paid from your first hire at fifteen or more staff, accruing 1 hour per 30 worked.  
FAMLI is law at 0.9 percent, but it does not collect until 2027 and pays nothing until 2028.  
Your job in 2026 is to run sick leave cleanly and stand FAMLI up before the switch flips.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

## Related United States guides

- [Maryland state tax & unemployment insurance](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance)sibling
- [Maryland wage, overtime & meal break law](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law)sibling
- [Maryland termination law & at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/maryland/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions)sibling
- [Hiring in the United States, overview](/country-hiring-guides/united-states)country parent
- [Virginia paid family & sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/virginia/paid-family-and-sick-leave)neighbour
- [Pennsylvania paid family & sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/pennsylvania/paid-family-and-sick-leave)neighbour
- [Employer of Record overview](/employer-of-record)core
- [Pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core
- [EOR vs Entity Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)tool
- [Maryland employer cost calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost)tool
- [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal advice. Maryland's earned sick and safe leave rules, the FAMLI contribution rate and start dates, the benefit weeks and weekly maximum, and federal FMLA can change, and Montgomery County adds its own ordinance. FAMLI in particular has been delayed before. Confirm specific figures with the Maryland Department of Labor, paidleave.maryland.gov, the US Department of Labor or your Teamed US specialist before relying on any number here.