Leave management

Managing employee leave means understanding how FAMLI will work with other leave programs your employees may use, including FMLA, your existing paid time off policies, short-term disability, and other benefits. This page explains how these programs will interact and how to manage employee leave when multiple benefits apply.

Understanding how FAMLI is different from FMLA and other leave programs

Maryland’s FAMLI program and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are similar in many ways. The key difference: FAMLI provides paid time off, while FMLA provides unpaid time off. FAMLI also covers more employees.

When leave qualifies for both programs

When a situation qualifies for both FMLA and FAMLI, the leaves run at the same time. In limited cases where a situation only qualifies for FAMLI, no FMLA time is used.

How FAMLI differs from paid sick leave

Paid sick days and FAMLI serve different purposes. Think of it this way: paid sick days are for routine illnesses like colds or minor infections, while FAMLI is for serious health conditions that require significant medical care or hospitalization.

Will my employees be able to use paid leave with other benefits programs?

Accrued leave

You and your employee could agree to use their accrued leave (such as vacation or paid time off (PTO)) to “top off” their FAMLI benefit up to 100% of their regular wage.

You will not be able to require employees to use their regular accrued leave, PTO, or sick days before they take FAMLI leave.

Alternative FAMLI Purpose Leave (AFPL)

You might already offer leave specifically designed for FAMLI qualifying events, such as parental leave. This is called Alternative FAMLI Purpose Leave (AFPL).

When an employee takes FAMLI leave, you may require them to use AFPL at the same time. However, you cannot require employees to use other types of paid time off—like vacation or general PTO—before accessing FAMLI benefits.

Short-Term Disability benefits

When FAMLI is used for an employee’s own serious health condition, there may be overlap with short-term disability coverage. FAMLI benefits will not be reduced when an employee also receives short-term disability (STD) benefits.

You can adjust your STD policies to complement FAMLI. For example, you may:

• Complement FAMLI wage replacement
• Extend leave duration beyond the 12 weeks provided by FAMLI