Massachusetts PFML Update: Notifying Employees of Changes in Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts for 2022

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers must notify current and new employees of the 2022 updates to contribution rates and weekly benefit amounts under the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Law. The Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has created template notice forms that employers can use. Notice should be made in the same manner as an employer uses to inform employees of other policies and updates.

On October 7, 2021, Seyfarth published a Legal Update regarding the DFML’s annual update to contribution rates and weekly benefit amounts under the PFML Law which are effective January 1, 2022.

Under the PFML Law, employers are required to notify their current and new employees of these updates, in addition to hanging the updated poster in the workplace. In doing so, employers should notify employees in a manner consistent with their customary method for informing employees of other policy changes and updates. Notice should be made in a manner that is easily accessible or available to employees.

For your convenience, click here for the updated workplace poster. For employers with 25 or more MA employees, click here for the updated rate sheet template in English for current employees if no other changes to your PFML plan were made; and click here for the updated Employer Notice template in English for new employees or if other changes were made to your plan in addition to the updated rates.  To download the template for employers with less than 25 MA employees and other DFML template workplace notifications and rate sheets for 2022, click here.

In addition to providing notice, the PFML Law generally requires that employees acknowledge or decline to acknowledge that they received this notice by signing an acknowledgment form. The DFML has indicated to us that with respect to the updated notice, the acknowledgment requirement does not apply to current employees who previously executed an acknowledgment form or declined to sign the acknowledgment form (assuming the employer has maintained a record of the employee’s declining to sign).   Employers should continue to collect signed PFML acknowledgements from new employees, however. For full details regarding PFML notice requirements, click here.

We will continue to monitor any developments with the PFML Law. Please reach out to one of the authors or your Seyfarth attorney with any questions.