Quarterly compliance updates – September 2023

Changes to existing state leave

Minnesota

Minnesota’s SF Bill 3035 includes Minnesota Pregnancy and Parenting Leave. Effective July 1, 2023, it amends Minnesota’s Nursing Mothers, Lactating Employees, and Pregnancy Accommodations law and Minnesota’s Parenting Leave and Accommodations law. Here are some highlights:

• Employers must provide all nursing and lactating employees with break time to express milk, which will be taken at the employee’s discretion. Lactation spaces must be clean, private, and secure.

• Employees’ health condition(s) related to pregnancy or childbirth may necessitate the following employer required accommodations: temporary leave of absence, modified work schedule or type of work, and more frequent or longer breaks.

• Expanded employer coverage, whereas "employer" means a person or entity that employs one or more employees, including the state and its political subdivisions. All employees, regardless of the employer size, have a right to nursing, lactation, and pregnancy accommodations.

• There is a new employer notice, required at time of hire or when inquiring about parental leave, that informs employees of the rights of pregnant and lactating employees. The notice must be provided in English as well as the employee’s primary language. If the employer has an employee handbook, the notice must also be included.

• Reinstatement rights and benefits protections to those employees who take leave as a pregnancy accommodation.

• The Minnesota Parenting Leave and Accommodations law is amended so that all employees (except independent contractors), regardless of their employer’s size or amount of time for which they have worked for their employer, have the rights to parenting leave and accommodations upon hire.

Illinois

The Illinois Employee Blood Donation Leave Act has been amended to include time off for organ donation. Employers with 51 or more employees must provide eligible employees one hour off for blood donation every 56 days. Now, employers must also provide 10 days of paid time off in any 12-month period for organ donation.

Read more here: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/103/HB/10300HB3516.htm

The Illinois Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act provides eligible employees with unpaid leave if they experience the loss of a child by suicide or homicide. Eligible employees are those that have worked for their employer for at least two weeks. Employees of a large employer (250 or more full time employees) are entitled to up to 12 weeks unpaid leave. Employees of small employers (50-249 full time employees) are entitled to up to six weeks of unpaid leave. Small employers are not covered under the law.

Oregon

Oregon SB 999 modifies the Oregon Family Leave Act and the Oregon Paid Family Leave two laws. The changes are effective 9/3/23, except for the one-year period tracking change, which will be effective 7/1/24:

• Clarifies meaning of “one-year period” for purposes of determining amount of unpaid family leave that an eligible employee is entitled to take within any given one-year period.

• Expands definition of “family member” which now includes any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.

• Clarifies how to determine whether an individual qualifies as a family member by reason of affinity.

• Amends the provision regarding reinstatement to expand the radius from 20 to 50 miles.

• Clarifies employer obligations with respect to continuation of benefits and job protection during and after period of paid family and medical leave or unpaid family leave.

• Clarifies provisions related to coordination of leave taken under provisions related to paid family and medical leave program and provisions related to unpaid family leave.

Developments with implementing paid family medical leave (PFML) laws

Delaware

On July 11, the Delaware Department of Labor adopted regulations for the implementation of the Healthy Delaware Families Act and its Family Medical Leave Insurance Program. As a reminder, Delaware’s PFML Program is effective January 1, 2026. Additional information about the program can be found on the state’s website.

Oregon

In May, Oregon passed Senate Bill 31 which required the Oregon Employment Department (OED) director to determine the program's solvency; if it was determined to be solvent, the program be effective as planned on September 3, 2023. On July 18, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) issued a press release announcing that the program would launch on September 3, 2023, as planned. The full text of the press release can be found here in the Oregon press release.

Colorado

The FAMLI Division in Colorado recently updated its website to provide information about a refund of premiums paid in 2023 for employers implementing a private plan. As a reminder, employers planning to implement a private plan with an effective date of January 1, 2024 must submit their private plan application to the FAMLI Division and receive approval by October 31, 2023. Employers that meet this deadline will be eligible for a refund of premiums paid to FAMLI in 2023. The FAMLI Division communicated the following:

“Starting in mid-September, the FAMLI Division will reach out to all employers with approved private plans in order to get their preference for receiving their refund (ACH Credit or paper check). FAMLI will also request a list of employees who contributed premiums but who are no longer employed by the business and will issue individual refunds of their contributions directly to the former employee. While employers do not need to do anything to initiate the refund, they may proactively request the refund by calling FAMLI at 1-866-CO-FAMLI (1-866-263-2654). We’ll start processing those requests in mid-September. For private plans approved after mid-September, the refund process will be initiated by FAMLI staff as soon as each private plan is approved.”

For more information about this update and private plans, visit the FAMLI website here.

New York PFL

On August 30, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) released the 2024 annual updates for New York PFL. A summary of the information and comparison to the 2023 information is below. For more information on the updates, please refer to the announcement from the DFS.

New PFML programs recently passed

Maine PFML

On July 11, Governor Janet Mills signed Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program into law. Beginning in May 2026, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for their own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, for military caregiver leave, bonding with a newborn, adopted or foster child, to attend to a qualifying military exigency, or for safety leave.

Eligible employees are those that have earned at least six times the state average weekly wage (AWW) subject to premium during the base period. The base period is defined as the first four calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual’s benefit year.

Maine’s PFML program will be funded by employees and employers. While the initial contribution rate has yet to be released, it will not exceed 1.0% of wages. For employers with 15+ employees, contributions will be split with employers paying 50% and employees paying 50%. Employers with less than 15 employees are not required to remit the employer portion of the contribution.

The program will provide a two-tier benefit. Eligible employees will receive 90% of their AWW up to 50% of the state’s AWW, plus 66% of the employee’s AWW that exceeds 50% of the state’s AWW.

Key dates include:
January 2024: Maine’s Department of Labor (DOL) will begin rulemaking
January 1, 2025: Rules for the implementation of the program must be adopted by the DOL
January 1, 2025: Contributions begin
May 1, 2026: Benefits begin

Maine’s program allows an employer to opt out of the state administered program by selecting a private plan. Private plans can be self–funded or fully-insured and must provide the same level, or greater, benefits as the state administered program.

Guardian will provide more information on this program as rulemaking begins.

Voluntary PFML Updates

Texas

On June 12, Governor Greg Abbott signed the Texas Family Leave Insurance Act. This voluntary program became effective September 1, 2023. The act allows insurers to offer PFL as a rider to a disability policy or as a stand-alone insurance policy to cover employee income loss for leave related to care of a family member with a serious health condition, to bond with a child during the first 12 months after birth, adoption or foster placement, to address a military exigency, and to care for a family member injured in the line of duty. Because the program is voluntary, employers are not mandated to provide coverage.

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