State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S.

Eleven states and the District of Columbia have enacted paid family leave (PFL) programs. These programs are active in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, the District of Columbia, and Connecticut, while the programs in Oregon, Colorado, Maryland, and Delaware have yet to go into effect.

Most states at this point have adopted or considered paid family leave. In at least two states—New Hampshire and Vermont—paid family leave passed the legislature only to be vetoed by the governor. In New Hampshire, a voluntary program will take effect in January 2023. Other states are currently considering legislation that would provide paid family leave only for government employees. In 2021, North Dakota passed legislation banning cities and counties from enacting local paid family leave legislation.

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.