Maryland labor officials outline timelines, costs and outreach for Time to Care paid‑leave rollout

Portia Wu, secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, and Assistant Secretary Elliot Skyr updated the Economic Matters Committee on the department’s progress implementing the Time to Care Act, telling members the program is on a path to start payroll deductions in July 2025 and accept benefit claims on July 1, 2026.

The program, Maryland Family Medical Leave Insurance (called “family” by department staff), is designed to cover short-term wage replacement and job protection for serious family and medical events. "The paid leave system will allow 2,500,000 workers across Maryland to take care of themselves and their family members for serious family and medical events and 180,000 employers to have the insurance to help them meet these costs with greater predictability," Secretary Portia Wu said.

Nut graf: The department described two employer options — participation in a state‑run fund or purchase of an approved private plan — and laid out contribution, reporting and benefit timelines. Officials also flagged a complex portion of the law governing how self‑employed individuals enroll; the department plans to bring legislation to the committee to allow more time to finalize that process.

Officials said the benefit design will allow workers to earn up to $1,000 per week for up to 12 weeks. "Maryland Family Medical Leave Insurance, family for short, will provide time away from work, job protection, and the ability to earn up to $1,000 a week of wage replacement for up to 12 weeks," Assistant Secretary Elliot Skyr said.

How the plans will work: Employers may be automatically enrolled in the state plan when they register with the department; beginning July 2025 payroll deductions of 0.45 percent of wages (up to the Social Security wage base) will be withheld. Employers with 15 or more employees will match that contribution; employers with 14 or fewer employees will not be required to remit the employer portion, though they must still remit and report the employee withholding. Employers choosing a private plan may indicate intent in May 2025, submit quarterly informational reports beginning October 2025, apply to self‑insure in January 2026, and buy a private commercial plan in spring 2026 after approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration.

The department said it is building digital systems to receive and process an estimated 260,000 claims per year, establishing financial and accounting systems, standing up an appeals director, and investing in fraud prevention and cybersecurity. Staff reported more than 80 outreach events and more than 10,000 attendees since the family division was created in 2023; the department has procured a communications vendor to expand outreach in spring 2025 and plans a dedicated customer care unit and employer services team.

Funding and readiness: Officials said $30,000,000 in ARPA funds were dedicated to the program and have been obligated to contracts, and an additional $10,000,000 in general funds were appropriated, for roughly $40,000,000 to stand up the program. On program readiness, Skyr summarized: "Towards collecting contributions, we are 70%. Towards being able to process benefits ... we are 30%."

Officials reiterated the department intends the program to be self‑funding for operations: administration costs will be paid from the trust fund funded by employee and employer contributions rather than general funds. The department said the statutory framework requires periodic resets of the contribution rate; the rate is set now at 0.45 percent with a statutory maximum of 1.2 percent.

Issues flagged and next steps: Department leaders told the committee the enrollment pathway for self‑employed individuals is particularly complex and requires additional design and verification steps to avoid misuse; they will introduce legislation asking for more time to finalize that portion. Committee members asked about reporting frequency, employer administrative burden, the potential for businesses to locate elsewhere, and how chambers of commerce view stacked leave provisions; department staff said they are coordinating with chambers and plan to provide materials for employers and more frequent guidance.

No formal votes or committee actions were taken during the presentation; staff said they will return with additional briefings and legislative language where needed.