The complete guide to U.S. family & medical leave (2025): federal rules + all 50 states

Family and medical leave is where work and life collide. A new baby, chemo appointments, aging parents, these are tender moments that deserve care and clarity. As the HR lead, how you guide leave requests matters. Your grasp of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and state paid family and medical leave (PFML) decides whether people can step away with their job and health coverage intact, and whether your organization stays compliant.

When it comes to FMLA and PFML, access is uneven. Only 27% of workers have access to paid family leave. About 56% of U.S. employees are eligible for FMLA overall, but eligibility drops to roughly 38% for low-wage workers.

This guide breaks down FMLA and state PFML, state by state, so you can quickly understand the rules and make the right decisions for your team.

What is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law that gives eligible employees job-protected time off, usually unpaid, for major family and health events, while keeping group health insurance in place. Its purpose is simple: help people welcome a child, care for a seriously ill family member, or recover from their own serious health condition without losing their job.

FMLA sets a national baseline that states and employers can build on with paid benefits.

Which employers must comply with FMLA?

FMLA doesn’t cover every employer. Coverage depends on employer size and type rather than industry. The list below shows who is covered, when related employers are combined, and how small-employer exceptions and state rules can still apply.

• Who’s covered:
  • Private employers with 50+ employees for 20+ workweeks in the current or prior year
  • All public agencies
  • All public and private K–12 schools
• Joint or integrated employers: Related entities or joint employers may have their headcount combined for coverage.
• Small employers: Under 50 employees are generally not covered by federal FMLA, though some states have separate paid-leave rules that may still apply.

What does FMLA cover, and for how long?

FMLA spells out which life events qualify for leave and how long employees can be away while keeping their job and health coverage. Most reasons allow up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period, and military caregiver leave can extend to 26 workweeks. The list below breaks down each qualifying event at a glance.

Bonding with a new child

• Events: Birth, adoption, or foster placement
• Duration: Up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period
• Restrictions:
  • Must be used within 12 months of birth or placement
  • Intermittent bonding requires employer approval

Your own serious health condition

• Duration: Up to 12 workweeks

Caring for a family member

• Events: Spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
• Duration: Up to 12 workweeks

Military exigency leave

• Events: Certain needs related to a family member’s covered active duty
• Duration: Up to 12 workweeks

Military caregiver leave

• Events: Caring for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness
• Duration: Up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period

What does FMLA protect?

FMLA protects more than time off. It safeguards jobs, health coverage, and employee rights while setting clear guardrails for how HR handles leave. Use the checklist below to keep your process consistent, compliant, and fair.

• Job restoration: same or equivalent role, same pay/benefits/terms, key-employee exception only with required notice
• Health insurance: continue group coverage, same terms as active employment, employer share of premiums maintained
• No interference or retaliation: do not count FMLA in attendance or performance, no negative factors in hiring, promotion, or discipline
• Privacy: medical certifications stored separately, limited access, avoid genetic information
• Notices and process: timely eligibility and rights notices, prompt designation, consistent 12-month tracking method
• Coordinate paid time: align PTO with state PFML where allowed, run leaves together when appropriate, no penalties for using protected leave
• Fitness for duty: require only if policy applies uniformly, limit to essential job functions
• Documentation: retain requests, notices, certifications, designations, return-to-work records

State-by-state: family and medical leave landscape (A–Z)

Family and medical leave rules vary widely across the country. Some states follow only the federal FMLA, while others add paid benefits, longer leave periods, or broader eligibility. This alphabetical list breaks down what each state offers so you can quickly see how the rules apply where your employees work.

Alabama

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Alaska

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Arizona

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Arkansas

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

California

Combined system: Paid Family Leave (PFL) for bonding/caregiving, plus State Disability Insurance (SDI) for your own non-work illness/injury (including pregnancy).

• Duration: PFL up to 8 weeks (bonding/caregiving). SDI up to 52 weeks if medically necessary.
• Wage replacement: Partial wage replacement via state insurance; weekly caps apply
• Employer: Most private employers participate via payroll deductions; job protection can come from separate laws (e.g., CFRA) while PFL pays benefits.

Colorado

Combined program covers family and medical leave (FAMLI).

• Duration: 12 weeks; +4 weeks for pregnancy/childbirth complications (up to 16)
• Wage replacement: Progressive formula based on state AWW, up to a weekly cap
• Employer/eligibility: Most employees qualify if they earned at least $2,500 subject to FAMLI premiums; benefits available since Jan 1, 2024.

Connecticut

Combined program covers family and medical leave (CT Paid Leave).

• Duration: 12 weeks; +2 weeks for incapacity during pregnancy (up to 14)
• Wage replacement: Formula tied to wages with a state-set weekly cap
• Employer/eligibility: Most workers fund via 0.5% payroll deduction; CT FMLA (job protection) is separate from the paid benefit.

Delaware

Program enacted (Healthy Delaware Families Act); benefits start in 2026.

• Duration/wage replacement: Set by statute; details finalized via DOL rulemaking
• Employer/eligibility: Applies to many private employers; contributions/administration via state. Timeline: benefits payable Jan 1, 2026.

District of Columbia (DC)

Universal Paid Family Leave program.

• Duration: Up to 12 weeks for parental, 12 for family caregiving, 12 for medical; +2 weeks prenatal
• Cap: DC guidance applies an annual total cap on weeks; check current year limits
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a weekly maximum (set annually)
• Employer/eligibility: Most private employers covered; funded via employer payroll tax

Florida

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Georgia

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Hawaii

No state-mandated paid family leave.

Note: Hawaii requires Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) for an employee’s own non-work disability (including pregnancy); federal FMLA covers job protection where eligible.

Idaho

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Illinois

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Indiana

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Iowa

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Kansas

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Kentucky

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Louisiana

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Maine

State Paid Family & Medical Leave enacted; benefits start in 2026.

• Duration: Up to 12 weeks per benefit year
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a cap (state-set annually)
• Employer/eligibility: Contributions begin Jan 1, 2025; benefits payable May 1, 2026

Maryland

State Paid Family & Medical Leave enacted; benefits start in 2026.

• Duration: Up to 12 weeks; +12 in certain birth/placement/medical combos
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a cap (set annually)
• Employer/eligibility: Contributions began Oct 1, 2024; benefits start Jan 1, 2026

Massachusetts

Combined program covers family and medical leave (PFML).

• Duration: 12 weeks family + 20 weeks medical (up to 26 combined per benefit year)
• Wage replacement: Progressive formula with a weekly cap
• Employer/eligibility: Most MA workers covered via payroll contributions; program includes job protection

Michigan

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Minnesota

Combined program (Paid Leave MN); benefits start in 2026.

• Duration: Up to 12 weeks family and 12 weeks medical, with an annual combined maximum of 20 weeks.
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a cap
• Employer/eligibility: Applies broadly to MN employers beginning 2026

Mississippi

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Missouri

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Montana

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Nebraska

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Nevada

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

New Hampshire

State-sponsored, voluntary Paid Family & Medical Leave (NH PFML).

• Duration: Up to 6 weeks ****per year
• Wage replacement: 60% of average weekly wage (up to Social Security wage cap)
• Employer/eligibility: Open to state employees and voluntary for private/public employers; individuals can buy coverage if their employer doesn’t.

New Jersey

Family Leave Insurance (FLI) pays bonding/caregiving; separate state TDI covers an employee’s own disability.

• Duration (FLI): Up to 12 weeks continuous (or 56 days intermittent)
• Wage replacement: 85% of average weekly wage up to the 2025 max (state-set annually)
• Employer/eligibility: Broad employee coverage with earnings test; employee payroll contributions fund benefits.

New Mexico

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

New York

Paid Family Leave (PFL) pays bonding/caregiving; separate state Disability Benefits Law covers an employee’s own disability.

• Duration: Up to 12 weeks per 52-week period
• Wage replacement: 67% of average weekly wage, capped at 67% of NYSAWW ($1,177.32/week in 2025)
• Employer/eligibility: Most private employers must carry PFL; payroll deduction funds benefits. (NY also added paid prenatal leave under the state paid sick leave program, separate from PFL.)

North Carolina

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

North Dakota

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Ohio

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Oklahoma

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Oregon

Combined program covers family, medical, and safe leave (Paid Leave Oregon).

• Duration: 12 weeks; +2 weeks for pregnancy/childbirth-related limits (up to 14)
• Wage replacement: Sliding-scale up to 100% for lower-wage workers, subject to cap
• Employer/eligibility: Job protection after 90 days with the employer; benefits live since Sept 2023.

Pennsylvania

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Rhode Island

Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) pays bonding/caregiving; Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) covers your own condition.

• Duration (TCI): 7 weeks in 2025 (increasing to 8 weeks in 2026)
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a cap; dependent allowance available
• Employer/eligibility: Funded by employee payroll tax; state-administered.

South Carolina

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

South Dakota

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Tennessee

Federal FMLA applies; plus a state parental leave law for larger worksites.

• Duration: Employers with 100+ full-time employees at a single site must provide up to 4 months (~16 weeks) of unpaid leave for adoption, pregnancy, childbirth, or nursing (eligibility and notice rules apply).

Texas

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Utah

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Vermont

Vermont FMLI is a voluntary insurance program administered by The Hartford.

• Duration: Generally up to 6 weeks (plan options vary)
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a cap (per plan design)
• Employer/eligibility: Rolled out in phases: state employees (2023), optional for other employers (2024), individual pool (2025). Not a mandate.

Virginia

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Washington

Combined program covers family and medical leave (Paid Family & Medical Leave).

• Duration: 12 weeks; up to 16 combined if you use both family + medical; up to 18 if pregnancy complications apply.
• Wage replacement: % of wages up to a statutory cap (updated annually)
• Employer/eligibility: Broad coverage with 820-hour work test in WA; program live since 2020

West Virginia

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Wisconsin

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

Wyoming

No state-mandated PFML. Federal FMLA applies if eligible.

How employers can stay compliant

Staying compliant with FMLA and state paid leave laws isn’t just about avoiding penalties. It’s about creating a smooth, fair process for employees during life’s most important moments. Clear policies, consistent tracking, and good documentation help protect your organization while building trust with your team. The steps below outline key practices to keep your leave administration compliant and employee friendly.

1. Post and distribute required notices and include FMLA (and your state’s PFML) in your handbook/onboarding.
2. Use consistent 12-month tracking (rolling forward/backward, calendar, fixed year) and apply it uniformly.
3. Coordinate programs: When state PFML pays benefits, job protection may come from FMLA or a state law. Track concurrency and run leaves together when allowed.
4. Train managers to route leave requests promptly and avoid interference/retaliation claims.
5. Update payroll for state contributions (e.g., CT 0.5%) and set up carrier/state portals where needed.
6. Mind multi-state teams: apply each worker’s work-location rules (not HQ), and keep state posters/links handy.
7. Document, document, document: eligibility notices, designations, medical certifications (where allowed), and return-to-work.

Using technology to stay compliant

Compliance with federal and state leave laws isn’t optional, but keeping up with the rules can eat up hours of HR’s time. Nava HQ puts compliance on autopilot. With our centralized platform, you can:

• Summarize state and federal leave requirements based on the states you operate in
• Track eligibility, leave balances, and required documentation in one place
• Run instant reports for federal programs and every state you operate in
• Create temporary coverage plan templates to keep work on track during an employee’s absence
• Draft employee communications, like leave approvals, employee resource guides, return-to-work instructions, and more.

Whether you’re managing FMLA in one state or paid family leave across ten, HQ ensures your processes stay consistent, compliant, and stress-free. We take the administrative lift off your plate so you can focus on supporting your people, not policing paperwork.