A guide to Paid Family and Medical Leave for Massachusetts employers

This guide comes from Mass.gov

A guide to Paid Family and Medical Leave for Massachusetts employers

As a Massachusetts employer, you’re likely going to have new responsibilities under the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law. This guide is intended to help you prepare for those responsibilities before the law’s effective date of July 1, 2019.

Starting July 1, 2019, you should begin:

• Making deductions from wages or payments for services made to your workforce in order to fund quarterly contributions to the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML). Contributions will be submitted through the Department of Revenue’s MassTaxConnect system beginning in October 2019
• Preparing for quarterly reporting, of gross wages or other payments to all Massachusetts W2 employees and Massachusetts 1099-MISC contract workers

Employer responsibilities

Depending on the makeup of your workforce, you may be responsible for remitting contributions for both Massachusetts W2 employees (full-time, part-time, seasonal) and Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors.

Beginning July 1, 2019, as an employer, you’re responsible for:

• Reporting wages paid, payment for contract services rendered, and other information about your workforce
• Determining contribution amounts for your workforce and for any contribution due from you as an employer where applicable
• Making deductions to cover worker contributions from payments you make to your workforce, either as wages or as payments for services from Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors
• Notifying your workforce of the PFML law

Notifying your workforce

You’re required to notify your workforce about the state’s PFML program, including its benefits and protections that apply to them. This notification includes:

• Displaying the Paid Family and Medical Leave workplace poster in a highly-visible location
• Providing written notice of contributions, benefits, and workforce protections to Massachusetts W2 employees and Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors
• Collecting signed acknowledgments of receipt of such notice from Massachusetts W2 employees and Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors

Required contributions

The average size and configuration of your workforce (Massachusetts W2 employees and Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors) for the previous calendar year will determine:

• Whether only your Massachusetts W2 employees or all of your workforce is covered under the law
• Whether you will be required to remit contributions only for Massachusetts W2 employees or for Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors providing services to you as well
• Whether you will be responsible for paying an employer share of the contributions

As an employer, you’re responsible for remitting all contributions following each quarterly report filed with DFML through MassTaxConnect.

Reporting and documentation

All employers will be required to file quarterly reports through MassTaxConnect beginning in October 2019. Reporting and documentation guidelines will be announced prior to July 1, 2019.

In the meantime, plan to include the following information in your reports:

Massachusetts workforce information (this includes any Massachusetts 1099-MISC contractors):

• Name
• Social Security number
• Wages paid or other payments for services

Employer:

• Federal employer identification number (FEIN)

Exemptions for approved private plans

If you already provide a paid leave benefit to your workforce, you may be eligible to receive an exemption from collecting, remitting, and paying contributions for paid family or medical leave under the state’s PFML law.

The benefits offered to your employees by your approved private plan must be greater than or equal to the benefits provided by the PFML law to be granted an exemption. You can apply for an exemption from the medical leave contribution, family leave contribution, or both. You’ll be able to apply for these annual exemptions through your MassTaxConnect account beginning April 29.

Self-employed individuals

As a self-employed individual, you aren’t required to participate in the state’s PFML program. However, you may elect to purchase coverage. If you do so, you will be responsible for paying the full 0.63 percent contribution rate for both family and medical leave.

Click here to view the complete guide.