Paid family leave by state, and FMLA in plain English

The short answer

Federal law can protect your job after a birth or adoption, but it doesn’t pay you. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave [1][2]. Pay comes from your employer’s own policy or from your state.

As of November 2026, 12 states and Washington, DC run paid family leave programs that pay you to bond with a new child. They’re in the table below. Maryland and Virginia have passed laws, but their programs don’t pay benefits yet.

If you read nothing else, ask HR three questions. Am I eligible for FMLA? Does the company offer paid parental leave? How does it fit with my state’s program?

Nobody reads the leave policy until they need it. Now you need it.

FMLA in plain English

Who qualifies. You need all three of these [2]:

• You’ve worked for your employer for at least 12 months.
• You’ve worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before your leave starts. That’s about 24 hours a week.
• You work at a location where your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

Which employers. Private employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks are covered. So are public agencies and public schools, whatever their size [2].

What you get:

• Up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period, unpaid [2].
• Your group health coverage continues on the same terms as if you were working [2].
• When you return, you get the same job or a virtually identical one [2].

The fine print:

• Leave to bond with a new child must end within 12 months of the birth or placement [3].
• If you and your spouse work for the same employer, the employer may limit you to 12 weeks combined for bonding [3].
• You can take bonding leave in pieces, or on a reduced schedule, only if your employer agrees [3].
• Give 30 days’ notice when you can see the leave coming, as you usually can with a due date. If that isn’t possible, tell your employer as soon as you practically can [3].

FMLA protects the job. A state program pays you. The two can overlap, so ask HR whether they run at the same time.

States with paid family leave

Weeks are for bonding with a new child. Each cap is the most the program pays in a week, for the period shown. Your pay depends on your wages, and each state sets its own earnings test to qualify.

How you apply. Most programs take applications online. In New York, you claim through your employer’s paid family leave insurer [13]. Some employers in other states use an approved private plan instead of the state’s plan, and then you apply through that plan. HR will know which applies to you.

Delaware is the odd one out on eligibility. Like FMLA, it asks for 12 months and 1,250 hours with your current employer [7].

Apply early where you can. Some states let you start before the birth. New Jersey, for example, lets you start an online application up to 60 days ahead. It also expects 30 days’ notice to your employer for one continuous leave [12].

Extra time around the birth

Several states add time for pregnancy and birth, or let bonding leave sit next to medical leave:

• Colorado: up to 4 more weeks for pregnancy or childbirth complications. Since January 1, 2026, parents can also get up to 12 weeks of paid neonatal care leave while a baby is in the NICU. Bonding leave starts after that claim ends [5].
• Connecticut and Oregon: up to 2 more weeks for pregnancy-related conditions [6][14].
• DC: 2 weeks of prenatal leave on top of 12 weeks of parental leave [8].
• Massachusetts: up to 26 weeks combined of family and medical leave in a benefit year [10].
• Minnesota: up to 20 weeks combined of family and medical leave in a benefit year [11].
• Washington: up to 16 weeks combined, or up to 18 if a pregnancy or birth condition leaves you unable to work [16].

Programs still to come

• Maryland: contributions start January 1, 2027. Benefits are planned from January 2028 [17].
• Virginia: passed in 2026. Contributions start April 1, 2028, and benefits start December 1, 2028. The plan is up to 12 weeks a year, paying up to 80% of wages [18].

New Hampshire and Vermont have voluntary programs. Coverage isn’t automatic, so ask your employer whether it takes part. If it doesn’t, both states let workers buy their own plan. New Hampshire’s pays 60% of wages for up to 6 weeks, and you can only enroll in its yearly window, December 1 to January 29 [19].

Two more federal laws to know

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Since June 27, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees must make reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions. The EEOC lists leave to recover from childbirth as an example. Its guidance also covers changes that let you pump or nurse during work hours [20].

The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. Most employees get break time and a private place that isn’t a bathroom to pump, for up to 1 year after the birth [21]. Our guide to pumping at work covers it.

Before your leave starts

1. Ask HR about FMLA eligibility, company paid leave and any private state plan.
2. Check your state’s program, using the link in the table. Note when you can apply.
3. Give notice in writing and keep a copy.
4. Add your baby to your health plan within 30 days of the birth on most job-based plans. Our guide to what having a baby costs explains the deadlines.
5. Plan childcare early. Waitlists start long before leave ends. See daycare, nanny or nanny share.

This guide explains the rules. It isn’t legal advice. For your situation, check with your HR team or your state program.

Sources

1. US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “Family and Medical Leave Act.” dol.gov
2. US Department of Labor, “Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act.” dol.gov
3. Code of Federal Regulations, 29 CFR 825.120, “Leave for pregnancy or birth,” and 29 CFR 825.302, “Employee notice requirements for foreseeable FMLA leave.” law.cornell.edu, law.cornell.edu
4. California EDD, “Paid Family Leave” and “Paid Family Leave Benefit Payment Amounts.” edd.ca.gov, edd.ca.gov
5. Colorado FAMLI, “Rules & Guidance” and “Neonatal Care Leave.” famli.colorado.gov, famli.colorado.gov
6. CT Paid Leave, “I am Starting or Expanding my Family” and “Consolidated Policies” (revised July 9, 2026). ctpaidleave.org
7. State of Delaware, “Delaware Employees Can Now Begin to File Claims for Paid Family Leave” (January 1, 2026), and Delaware Department of Labor, “Overview of the Program” FAQs. news.delaware.gov, laborfiles.delaware.gov
8. DC Office of Paid Family Leave, “2026 Program Changes: What You Need to Know.” dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov
9. Maine Department of Labor, “Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave” and “Mainers with Approved Applications Can Begin Leave.” maine.gov, maine.gov
10. Mass.gov, “Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) overview and benefits.” mass.gov
11. Minnesota Paid Leave, “How Paid Leave works,” and Minnesota Statutes, section 268B.04 (the new cap applies to leaves starting on or after the last Sunday in October). pl.mn.gov, revisor.mn.gov
12. New Jersey Department of Labor, “Family Leave Insurance.” nj.gov
13. New York State, “Paid Family Leave Updates for 2026.” paidfamilyleave.ny.gov
14. Oregon Employment Department, “Minimum and Maximum Weekly Benefit Amounts to Increase” (May 29, 2026), and Paid Leave Oregon, “Common questions.” oregon.gov, paidleave.oregon.gov
15. Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, “TDI and TCI Frequently Asked Questions,” and “Maximum Weekly Benefit Amounts for Unemployment and Temporary Disability Insurance to Increase in July” (June 22, 2026). dlt.ri.gov, dlt.ri.gov
16. Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, “How Paid Leave works,” and Employment Security Department, “Washington’s average wage increased to $95,160 in 2024.” paidleave.wa.gov, esd.wa.gov
17. Maryland FAMLI, “About the program.” paidleave.maryland.gov
18. Virginia General Assembly, SB 2 (2026), Acts of Assembly Chapter 981. lis.virginia.gov
19. New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave, and Office of Governor Phil Scott, “Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance.” paidfamilymedicalleave.nh.gov, governor.vermont.gov
20. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.” eeoc.gov
21. US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “FLSA Protections to Pump at Work.” dol.gov