Department of Family and Medical Leave Releases 2023 PFML Workforce Notifications

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“Department”) recently published its 2023 workforce notifications. These notifications, required under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (“PFML”) include a poster, notices, and rate sheets that employers are to post or distribute. Massachusetts employers (excluding individual and public employers who have not adopted the PFML) are required to distribute the notices to employees and display the poster by December 2, 2022, which is 30 days before the new PFML rates take effect. Downloadable versions of the 2023 workplace poster, rate sheets, and notices are available on the Department’s website, here.

Massachusetts employers with a workforce eligible for PFML benefits must display the 2023 workplace poster, which explains PFML benefits, in a workplace location where it can be easily read. The poster must be available in English and each language which is the primary language of 5 or more individuals in an employer’s workforce if that language is one of the 12 translations available from the Department’s website. Employers should continue to display the 2022 poster until the end of the year, while also displaying the 2023 poster to notify employees of the upcoming rate changes. It also a best practice to distribute an electronic version of the poster so that employees may still access it in the event that they work remotely or otherwise do not enter the physical work location.

Additionally, employers must distribute the applicable 2023 PFML notice to all employees and covered contract workers. There are three versions of the notice: (1)  for employers with 25 or more covered individuals; (2) for employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals; and (3) for employers to provide self-employed individuals working on a Form 1099-MISC. As with the poster, the notice must be in English and any other language that is the primary language of 5 or more individuals.

Finally, employers must distribute the new rate sheets, which include the 2023 contribution rates for PFML benefits. These rate sheets also vary by employer size. For employers with 25 or more covered individuals, the family leave contribution rate for 2023 is 0.11%, and the Medical Leave contribution is 0.52%, for a total of 0.63%. Employers may withhold from a covered employee’s wages the entire 0.11% contribution rate for family leave contribution and up to 0.208% for an employee’s medical leave contribution. Employers are responsible for directly paying the remaining 0.312% of medical leave contribution. For employers with fewer than 25 employees, the family leave contribution for 2023 is 0.11% and the medical leave contribution is 0.208% for a total of 0.318%. Employers with fewer than 25 covered individuals may also withhold 0.11% of eligible wages for the family leave contribution and 0.208% of eligible wages for the medical leave contribution.

If you have any questions about the content of this update, please contact us. We are pleased to assist employers with all matters related to PFML.

This update is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.