State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S.
The Brief
This page was last updated Jan 20, 2023.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted paid family leave (PFL) laws: California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington have laws in effect; Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Oregon enacted laws not yet in effect.
Most of these state programs provide parental and family caregiving leave as well as temporary disability insurance to cover paid personal medical leave. Some also use a social insurance policy design that funds these benefits through pooled payroll taxes on employees and/or employers.
However, some states are exploring the role of private insurance. New York, New Hampshire, and Virginia have enacted laws that provide paid family and medical leave through private insurance on a mandatory (New York) or voluntary (New Hampshire and Virginia) basis. In these systems, companies and/or workers pay premiums to private insurers that provide benefits for paid parental, family caregiving, and/or personal medical leave.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees most workers at companies with at least 50 employees access to unpaid, job-protected parental, family caregiver, personal medical, and military exigency leave. Some states expanded job protection as part of their PFL program while others left job protection for leave-takers as it is under FMLA. For a full list of state-level job protection laws, see the State Family and Medical Leave and Job-Protection Laws explainer.
The map below shows the status of state-level PFL policies and programs, and the table outlines the basic features of the PFL programs that have been enacted.
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Status of PFL Laws
- States with no PFL laws
- States with PFL laws, but programs are not yet active
- States with active PFL laws
- States with no PFL laws
- States with PFL laws, but programs are not yet active
- States with active PFL laws
Alabama |
Alaska |
Arkansas |
Delaware |
Florida |
Idaho |
Kansas |
Kentucky |
Louisiana |
Maine |
Michigan |
Minnesota |
Mississippi |
Nevada |
New Hampshire |
North Carolina |
Ohio |
Pennsylvania |
Texas |
Utah |
West Virginia |
Wisconsin |
Wyoming |
South Dakota |
Alabama |
Arizona |
Georgia |
Hawaii |
Illinois |
Indiana |
Iowa |
Maryland |
Missouri |
Montana |
Nebraska |
New Mexico |
North Dakota |
Oklahoma |
South Carolina |
Tennessee |
Vermont |
Virginia |
Connecticut |
Oregon |
Colorado |
California |
New Jersey |
Rhode Island |
New York |
District Of Columbia |
Washington |
Massachusetts |
Features of State PFL Programs
Sources
California Employment Development Department (source, source)
Small Business Majority
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (source, source, source)
New York Paid Family Leave
DC Department of Employment Services
Washington Employment Security Department
Revised Code of Washington
Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave
Newfront
Connecticut Paid Leave
Oregon Employment Department
Colorado Proposition 118
Washington City Paper
Maryland General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
Virginia Legislative Information System
The Office of Governor Christopher T. Sununu
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