State disability and paid family leave programs: every mandate in 2026

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia run mandatory paid family or medical leave programs, and five states plus Puerto Rico also require temporary disability coverage for non-work illness and injury. As of October 2026, benefits are being paid in all of them except Maryland, which starts collecting contributions in January 2027 and paying benefits in January 2028. Virginia enacted its own program on April 22, 2026, with contributions from April 1, 2028 and benefits from December 1, 2028. Most programs are funded by payroll contributions, many are mostly paid by employees, and the rules for who collects, remits and notifies fall on the employer.

What these programs are, and what they are not

Two different ideas get mixed together. Temporary disability insurance (TDI) replaces wages when the worker's own illness, injury or pregnancy keeps them off the job, and it has existed in a handful of places for decades. Paid family and medical leave (PFML) is newer and usually pays for bonding with a child, caring for a seriously ill family member, the worker's own serious health condition, and in some states military-family or safety reasons (domestic violence, for example). Several PFML programs include medical leave for the worker, which means they overlap with TDI where both exist.

Neither is workers' compensation, which covers job-related injuries (workers' compensation insurance: how it works). Neither is the same as a private group policy; see group short- and long-term disability insurance for employers for how an employer-purchased plan coordinates. State leave also runs alongside the federal FMLA, which gives unpaid, job-protected time off but no pay, and the programs are not uniform about job protection. Check Workers' comp, the ADA and FMLA: how they overlap for how leave laws overlap.

Programs and 2026 status

The table lists each program, who pays, and whether benefits have begun. Rates are the 2026 figures posted by each state agency and reset most years, so confirm on the agency site before configuring payroll.

Sources are the agencies themselves: California EDD, Colorado FAMLI, CT Paid Leave Authority, Delaware DOL, DC Paid Family Leave, Maine DOL, Maryland DOL, Minnesota DEED, New Jersey DOL, NY Paid Family Leave, Oregon Employment Department, Rhode Island DLT, Washington ESD and Hawaii DLIR. The start years for Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington and the older programs come from the programs' public launch dates; the exact month matters only for historical questions.

Details that change how you run payroll

Who pays. California, Connecticut, New Jersey FLI, New York PFL and Rhode Island are essentially employee-funded, and the employer withholds and remits. Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington (and Virginia, once it starts) are shared, with size-based breaks for small employers: Colorado exempts employers with nine or fewer from the employer share, Maryland employers under 15 remit only the employee half, Oregon employers with fewer than 25 employees do not pay the employer portion, Massachusetts employers under 25 covered individuals owe no employer share, Virginia employers with 10 or fewer will pay none, and Washington employers with fewer than 50 employees do not. DC is the outlier, funded entirely by employers; the tax may not be deducted from pay (District of Columbia). New Jersey TDI is shared, with an employer rate that depends on the employer's experience (New Jersey).

Private plans. Most states let an employer opt out of the state fund by buying an approved private plan that matches or exceeds state benefits (California voluntary plans, Colorado approved private plans, New Jersey and New York carriers, and similar programs). That is a carrier product, usually bundled with group disability, and it requires state approval and annual renewal. Cost, administration and employee communication all change.

Notices and posters. Nearly every state requires written notice at hire and when leave begins, and posters in the workplace. Missing the notice can mean a penalty and, in some states, a longer leave right.

Employees in more than one state. Coverage usually follows where the work is localized or based, but remote workers complicate it. A remote worker in Colorado for a New York employer is generally covered by Colorado's program, which can surprise a company with no Colorado payroll registration. See remote employees and workers' comp: coverage, claims and state rules and employees in several states: other-states coverage and multistate workers' comp for the parallel comp questions.

Benefit amounts and duration. Programs pay a percentage of wages up to a weekly cap. For example, New York's 2026 Paid Family Leave benefit is 67% of average weekly wage up to $1,228.53 a week, while its disability benefit remains capped at $170 a week (New York). New Jersey's maximum weekly benefit is $1,119 in 2026, Rhode Island's TDI maximum rose to $1,150 on July 1, 2026, Delaware pays up to 80% of wages to $900 a week, and Hawaii's TDI maximum is $871 a week. A state weekly cap that falls far below a typical wage leaves a gap that group disability or sick leave often covers (group short- and long-term disability insurance for employers).

Programs that recently changed

• Maine started paying benefits only for leave taken on or after May 1, 2026, a year and a half after contributions began (Maine).
• Delaware opened claims on January 1, 2026; full coverage applies to employers with 25 or more employees, parental leave only to those with 10 to 24, and employers with nine or fewer are exempt (Delaware).
• Minnesota began premiums and benefits on January 1, 2026 (Minnesota).
• DC cut benefits effective October 1, 2026: medical leave drops to 10 weeks, family caregiving to 6 weeks, and the weekly maximum to $1,100.
• Massachusetts changes who shares the cost from January 1, 2027, moving the employer share from medical leave to family leave (Massachusetts).
• Maryland pushed its schedule out; employers should begin building payroll codes for 2027 contributions (Maryland).

Virginia's program is not yet collecting or paying, so plan payroll codes for April 2028. Vermont and New Hampshire sit outside the mandatory list. Both run voluntary, insurer-supported family leave plans that an employer can choose to join; neither imposes a mandate.

A worked example

Say a 60-employee distributor in Connecticut hires a remote bookkeeper who lives and works in Colorado. Connecticut withholding is the employer's existing practice at 0.5%, but the bookkeeper's wages are reportable to Colorado FAMLI at the combined 0.88%, with the employer paying 0.44% and the employee paying 0.44%. The employer registers with FAMLI, adds a payroll code for the bookkeeper, posts the state notice to a remote employee portal, and updates the leave policy to reflect that leave runs concurrently with FMLA where both apply. If the company also buys group disability, it reviews the integration language so the LTD plan does not overpay the employee when a state benefit is also paid. This is an illustration of the workflow, not advice on a specific employer's obligation.

Checklist for employers

1. List every state where you have employees, including remote workers.
2. For each state, find the agency page and confirm the current rate, wage base, and employer share.
3. Register for the program account before the first contribution date.
4. Set payroll deductions and employer contributions, and confirm your payroll vendor handles them.
5. Issue the required notices at hire and when leave is requested.
6. Decide whether a private plan makes sense, and coordinate it with group disability and FMLA.
7. Review rates each January; most of these programs reset annually.

Use workers' comp and benefits requirements by state for a state-by-state view of other mandatory coverages.

Key takeaways

• Thirteen states and DC mandate paid family or medical leave; California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico also mandate temporary disability coverage.
• Benefits are paying everywhere in 2026 except Maryland (contributions January 2027, benefits January 2028) and Virginia, enacted April 2026 with contributions from April 1, 2028 and benefits from December 1, 2028.
• Funding differs: many programs are employee-paid, several are shared, and DC is employer-only; small-employer breaks vary by state.
• Remote and multistate employees can trigger a program in a state where the employer has no office.
• State weekly benefit caps can leave a gap, so many employers coordinate the state benefit with group disability and sick pay.