Op-Ed: In Maryland's paid family leave, will this time be different?

Maryland’s new Family and Medical Leave Insurance program is being sold as a safety net for families.

But by forcing every worker and employer to finance the same government benefit, this program may leave those least able to afford it paying for benefits they rarely use.

Including Maryland, 14 states plus the District of Columbia have or will soon have statewide, mandatory paid family and medical leave programs. While proponents see these programs as a solution for workers caring for families, they often overlook the costs they create.

Starting Jan. 1, Maryland employers and employees will begin contributing to FAMLI. Benefits will become available Jan. 1, 2028, when eligible workers can receive up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave annually.

FAMLI is funded similarly to Social Security, with the employer deducting an individual’s share from each paycheck. The total contribution rate for 2027 is 0.9% of wages, with employers allowed to deduct up to half from employees’ pay. All employees must contribute, and all employers with at least one employee must register. Employers with fewer than 15 employees, however, are not required to pay the employer share.

Paid family leave programs like FAMLI should benefit low-income workers the most. However, evidence from other state programs suggests that lower-income workers are less likely to use the benefits they help to finance.

In Rhode Island in 2017, 42% of workers paying into the program made less than $20,000, but only 19% of beneficiaries were from this lower-income group. Mandatory programs only replace a fraction of people’s wages during leave, and low-income workers are least likely to be able to absorb a temporary reduction in income. Government paid leave programs can be regressive, with poorer workers financing benefits that are disproportionately used by higher-income workers.

In Maryland, FAMLI beneficiaries can receive between $50 and $1,000 per week, and most eligible employees can receive up to 90% of their weekly wages. For families living paycheck to paycheck, any income reduction can make taking leave extremely difficult. Payroll taxes hit every single paycheck, regardless of whether a worker ever uses the leave available.

Mandatory paid leave programs can discourage companies from offering their own paid leave benefits. Requiring them to pay into a state program reduces resources to offer their own benefits, potentially leaving workers with less flexibility. Many employers already provide paid time off that workers can use for family needs. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, nearly 80% of full-time civilian workers have access to paid vacation time, 82% have access to paid sick leave, and a quarter have access to paid family leave.

These programs can also affect employment opportunities, particularly for women. Research from Europe has found that generous leave policies can carry career costs for women, including reduced opportunities for promotion or advancement. This suggests that employers expect women of childbearing age or mothers of young children to be more likely to take extended leave, potentially affecting hiring, promotion or leadership decisions. We should support policies that help women balance their professional and personal lives without inadvertently making employers more hesitant to invest in their careers.

When state governments impose mandatory programs like FAMLI, they treat family leave as something that can be solved with a blanket approach. But every family has different needs. This is why Independent Women has long advocated for an Earned Paid Leave approach.

This plan would allow workers to access some of their future Social Security benefits before the normal retirement age to provide financial support during family-related leave. Workers who use this leave would then wait slightly longer to be eligible for full retirement benefits, depending on how much leave they take. This budget-neutral strategy, available to both men and women, does not raise taxes or expand government, and it is voluntary. It would have a limited impact on other existing leave programs that may suit families better while minimizing disruption to employment opportunities.

Families deserve the flexibility to do what works best for them. Mandatory paid leave programs impose additional taxes on workers and can be regressive for lower-income workers, crowd out existing benefits, and hinder women’s opportunities for advancement. Earned Paid Leave offers an alternative that gives workers access to paid time away from work without imposing another one-size-fits-all government mandate.

Marylanders will soon see how costly new state entitlement programs can be, just like the states that came before them.