Maryland workers are about to get a little surprise in their January 2027 paychecks, and it’s not a bonus. The state will start siphoning up to 0.45% of workers’ wages to fund a paid family leave program that won’t actually pay out any benefits until a full year later, in January 2028.
That’s right. Maryland Democrats want your money now for something you can’t use until next decade. The program, called the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, or FAMLI, also requires larger employers to chip in an additional 0.45%, bringing the combined rate to 0.9%. The state’s Department of Labor says collecting contributions a year early is necessary to build an insurance reserve, because apparently Maryland’s government needs twelve months of practice holding other people’s money before it feels ready to give any of it back.
This whole mess started with the Time to Care Act, which Maryland Democrats passed in 2022 by overriding then-Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto. Hogan called the bill an “irresponsibly crafted, rushed piece of legislation” and warned it would impose extra costs on employers and employees, lacked a payroll deduction cap, and had no solid cost-sharing formula. Lawmakers overrode him the very next day, because why listen to someone who makes sense? The program was originally supposed to start paying benefits in January 2025, then got delayed. And delayed again. Now the magic date is January 1, 2028, when eligible workers can finally receive up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave.
Republican gubernatorial nominee and former state Del. Dan Cox isn’t buying the state’s justification. When asked by the Daily Caller News Foundation whether building an initial insurance reserve justified making workers contribute for an entire year before seeing a single benefit, Cox was blunt: “No, it does not.” You can read more about Maryland FAMLI payroll deductions and what Cox and state officials are saying about the growing controversy.
The administrative costs alone should make any taxpayer’s eyes water. A Maryland legislative budget analysis found $51.4 million in FAMLI administrative funding for fiscal 2026, jumping to $70.1 million for fiscal 2027, a 36.4% increase. Cox says transparency is urgently needed. “I think transparency is absolutely essential,” he told the DCNF, adding that if elected governor he would at minimum post the program’s finances online. He also argued the whole thing should be voluntary. “This should be an opt in. This should be a voluntary process, for those who wish to participate,” Cox said. A wild concept, choosing what happens with your own paycheck.
Gov. Wes Moore’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment, nor did the offices of House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, House Majority Leader David Moon, Senate President Bill Ferguson, or Senate Majority Leader Nancy King. Busy people, apparently, just not busy answering questions about the program they forced onto workers.
The Daily Caller News Foundation has a pending Maryland Public Information Act request seeking more records on FAMLI’s finances and cost assumptions. Meanwhile, Maryland workers have about a year and a half to enjoy seeing their paychecks fully intact, because after January 2027, part of that money belongs to Annapolis. And don’t worry, you’ll get it back eventually. Probably.
