Which States Have Paid Family Leave Programs?

Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia now have programs or policies that provide paid leave for family or medical issues, in addition to the five states that offer short-term disability programs. These new paid leave programs provide employees with paid time off for reasons like illness, family care, or welcoming a new child.

If your company doesn't offer group short-term or long-term disability insurance, you might be able to take family leave or medical leave under a state-sponsored paid leave program.

The following 15 states have mandatory paid family and/or medical leave or temporary disability benefits, meaning that employers who are covered under the program are required to offer paid leave. (Below we'll talk about the states that have voluntary programs.)

California's Paid Family Leave and Disability Programs

California has a short-term disability insurance (SDI) program and a paid family leave (PFL) program.

The SDI program offers up to 52 weeks off for employees and 39 weeks off for self-employed people. The paid family leave program provides up to 8 weeks of paid family leave to take care of a seriously ill family member or welcome a new child.

For more information, see our articles on California's short-term disability program and California's paid leave program.

Colorado's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Colorado's new program, Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI), started in 2024.

The FAMLI program provides employees who qualify with up to 12 weeks of paid time off to take care of a seriously ill family member or bond with a new child. Employees with pregnancy complications or complications from childbirth can qualify for an extra 4 weeks.

FAMLI pays about 90% of your weekly wage, up to a maximum benefit of $1,100 per week.

Connecticut's Paid Family Medical Leave Program

Under Connecticut's Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) program, you can take up to 12 weeks of paid time off if you've worked in Connecticut for at least 12 weeks before taking time off and have earned a certain minimum amount of earnings. Your benefit is based on a percentage of your earnings, but the maximum is $941.40 per week in 2024.

District of Columbia's Universal Paid Leave Program

D.C.'s universal paid leave (UPL) program provides paid family leave in the following amounts:

• 12 weeks to care for your own serious health condition
• 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition

• 2 weeks of prenatal leave, and
• 12 weeks to bond with a new child.

The weekly benefit is capped at $1,118 (in 2024), but your exact benefit depends on your average weekly wage. To qualify, you must have worked in D.C. more than 50% of your time in the year before taking time off.

Delaware's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Delaware's Healthy Delaware Families Act, which takes effect in 2026, will provide you with paid leave if you've worked at least 1,250 hours during the year before taking leave for a Delaware employer. You'll be eligible for up to 6 weeks of paid time off per year to care for your own or a family member's serious health condition, or 12 weeks per year of paid leave to care for a child during their first year with you.

The maximum benefit is $900 per week, but your benefit will be equal to 80% of your wages.

Hawaii's Temporary Disability Insurance Program

Hawaii doesn't yet have paid family leave, but the state's Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program provides short-term disability benefits for most employees in Hawaii who are unable to perform their regular job duties. To qualify for the TDI program, you need to have worked in Hawaii at least half-time for 14 weeks, and have made at least $400 in the year before taking time off.

You can collect TDI for up to 26 weeks. The benefit pays 58% of your average weekly wage, up to $798 per week in 2024. For more information, see our article on Hawaii's TDI benefits.

Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Maine has a new paid family and medical leave program that begins in 2026. You can take up to 12 weeks of paid medical or family leave per year. To qualify, you must have worked for your company for one year before taking time off, and you must have earned at least six times the state average weekly wage during that time. The new program is only for employers with at least 15 employees.

The maximum benefit is $1,104 per week. You'll receive 90% of your average weekly earnings, up to 50% of the state average weekly wage, plus 66% of your wages above that amount.

Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Maryland's new Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program begins in 2026. FAMLI provides up to 12 weeks per year to care for your own or a family member's serious health condition or to welcome a new child. To qualify, you need to have worked at least 680 hours in the 12 months before taking time off.

The maximum benefit is $1,000 per week, but the amount you'll receive is based on a percentage of your average weekly wages and the statewide average weekly wage.

Massachusetts's Paid Family Leave Program

The paid family leave program in Massachusetts provides up to 26 weeks of paid medical and family leave per year. You can use the leave to care for your own or a family member's serious health condition or to bond with a new child. You can take up to 20 weeks of medical leave for pregnancy or childbirth with your doctor's certification that you can't work. Parents can take 12 weeks off to welcome a new child.

You must have earned at least $6,300 in the year before you take leave.

The maximum benefit amount is $1,149.90 per week, but your exact benefit is based on a percentage of your average weekly wages. Many employers are also required to provide paid sick leave benefits in Massachusetts.

Minnesota's Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Minnesota's paid family and medical leave program begins in 2026. The program will provide up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave per year for most employees in the state. If you qualify by earning more than $3,500 in the year before you need to take time off, you can take paid leave to care for your own or a family member's serious health condition or to welcome a new child. You can use up to 20 weeks of combined family and/or medical leave if you have more than one qualifying event in one year.

New Jersey's Family Leave Insurance and Disability Programs

New Jersey has a family leave insurance program and a temporary disability insurance (TDI) program.

Family leave insurance provides paid time off to take care of a seriously ill family member or to welcome a new child. You can take 12 weeks off continuously in a year or up to 8 weeks (56 days) off intermittently in a year. To qualify for family leave insurance, you must have worked for at least 20 weeks in the year before you file your claim, earning at least $283 per week.

TDI benefits are available for short-term illnesses or injuries for up to 26 weeks. New mothers can take from 8 to 12 weeks for pregnancy and recovery from childbirth, depending on how long they're unable to work. The TDI benefit is 85% of your average weekly earnings, but it can't be more than $1,055 per week (in 2024). For more information, see our article on New Jersey temporary disability benefits.

New York's Paid Family Leave and Disability Programs

New York has a paid family leave (PFL) program and a workers' disability benefits program under the Disability Benefits Law (DBL).

In New York, employers are required to obtain paid family leave insurance from a private insurance company or to "self-insure." The insurance will provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave to employees in order to:

• take care of family members, including parents, siblings, and children, who are ill or injured, or
• welcome a newborn child, an adopted child, or a foster child.

The pay is 67% of the worker's average weekly wage, but the maximum weekly benefit is $1,151.16 (in 2024). To qualify for paid family leave, you must have worked for 26 consecutive weeks for at least 20 hours per week or 175 days (not consecutively) for less than 20 hours per week. Learn more about New York State's paid family leave benefits.

New York's DBL program pays up to 26 weeks for an illness or injury that prevents you from working. If you're pregnant, you're eligible for disability benefits for 8 to 12 weeks, depending on how long you're unable to work. The pay is 50% of your average weekly wage, up to $170 per week, for up to 26 weeks.

To qualify for New York State disability benefits, you must have worked full-time for a covered employer for at least four consecutive weeks. For more information, see our article on New York's DBL benefits.

You can't take more than 26 weeks of combined disability leave and paid family leave in one year, and you can't collect disability benefits and PFL benefits at the same time.

Oregon's Paid Family Medical Leave Program

In Oregon, you can take up to 12 weeks of paid family medical leave (PFML) to care for your own or a family member's serious health condition or to bond with a new child. You may be able to take an extra two weeks of paid leave for pregnancy or childbirth.

The benefit is calculated based on a percentage of your average weekly earnings but is capped at 120% of the state average weekly wage, which is $1,598 per week (through June 2025).

To qualify, you need to have earned at least $1,000 in the year before taking time off. You can opt into the PFML program if you're self-employed.

Rhode Island's TDI and TCI Programs

Rhode Island's Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program allows you to take paid time off if you're unable to work due to a medical condition, which can include pregnancy.

Rhode Island's Temporary Caregiver Insurance Program (TCI)provides paid time off to take care of a seriously ill family member or new child. The TCI program provides up to six weeks of paid leave.

To qualify for TDI or TCI, you must have earned $16,800 or more in the year before you take time off. But if you didn't, Rhode Island will use a different calculation. You could be eligible if you earned at least $5,600 over the past four out of five calendar quarters, earning at least $2,800 during one of the quarters.

TDI and TCI both pay approximately 60% of your average weekly wage. The maximum is $1,043 per week (plus a bit more for dependent children). Learn more about Rhode Island's disability benefits.

Washington's Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Washington State offers a paid family and medical leave (PFML) program. You can take up to 12 weeks of time off to take care of your own serious health condition (or 14 weeks for pregnancy-related health issues) or 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition. You can use up to 16 weeks of combined family and medical leave per year (or 18 weeks for pregnancy-related health issues combined with family leave).

Washington's PFML program is limited to employees who've worked at least 820 hours during the year before taking leave.

The benefit is 90% of your average weekly wages, but the maximum weekly benefit is $1,456 (in 2024). Learn more about Washington's paid family leave program.

States With Voluntary Paid Leave Programs

Ten states have recently added policies or laws that allow employers to sign up for paid leave programs voluntarily so that their employees are covered.

New Hampshire and Vermont have new optional paid leave programs where the state contracts with one insurance company to provide paid leave to employees whose employers opt in to the program. Employers can voluntarily purchase paid leave insurance from the insurer.

Another eight states allow private insurers to offer paid family leave insurance, but the state isn't involved in contracting with the insurance companies. So far, the states with this type of voluntary paid leave program are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Not all of the states' programs have begun yet, with some starting in 2025 and others in 2026.

Still other states have proposed legislation for paid family leave, and multiple bills are pending. We will update this page as more states add paid family leave programs.

New Hampshire's Voluntary Family and Medical Leave Insurance

New Hampshire has an optional paid leave program called New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave (NH PFML). Employers can voluntarily join the program to be insured by MetLife, the insurer that has contracted with the state.

NH PFML pays for up to six weeks of paid leave per year to take care of your own or a family member's serious health condition or for the birth or adoption of a child. The benefit is 60% of your average weekly wage, up to a cap.

Learn more about taking family and medical leave in New Hampshire.

Vermont's Voluntary Family and Medical Leave Insurance

Vermont has a new optional paid leave program called the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Plan (VT-FMLI). Employers with two or more employees can voluntarily join the program starting July 1, 2024. Employers with one employee, and self-employed people, can join the program starting July 1, 2025.

VT-FMLI pays for up to six weeks of paid leave to take care of your own or a family member's serious health condition or for the birth or adoption of a child. The benefit is 60% of your average weekly wage.

Some Vermont companies will opt to provide only a family leave program (VT-FLI), which doesn't offer medical leave. VT-FLI provides benefits for taking care of a family member or welcoming a new child, but not for your own medical condition or recovering from childbirth.

Learn more about taking family and medical leave in Vermont.

Protecting Your Job When You Take Paid Family or Medical Leave

Some of these state paid leave programs protect your job so it will be there when you're able to return to work. But in other states, the paid leave or disability program only provides cash benefits. In these states, you need a law like the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), or a similar state law, to make sure your job is there for you when you return.

Read about whether your state has its own family and medical leave law, or how the FMLA works with other laws in your state, by visiting our section on state family and medical leave laws.