Update to MA PFML Coordination of Benefits “Topping-Off” Rules

Recent legislative amendments will allow employees to supplement (i.e., "top off") benefits received from Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave (MA PFML) with any accrued and available paid leave (e.g., sick time, vacation, PTO, personal time) starting with applications filed on or after November 1, 2023.

The combined weekly PFML benefits and supplemented paid leave, whether through an employer’s short-term disability/long-term disability policies or the employee’s PTO, cannot exceed the employee’s average weekly wage. Employers will be responsible for monitoring and ensuring that the combined weekly sum of employer-provided paid leave benefits and PFML benefits does not exceed an employee’s average weekly wage. If the application is filed on or after November 1, 2023, applications filed retroactively for a leave that began before November 1, 2023, are also subject to the new “top off” rule.

Previously, employers who offered the MA PFML program through a private plan had the option to allow their employees to “top off” the benefits from the private plan with accrued paid leave. With the new legislative amendment, private plan employers are now required to provide employees with the top-off option.

For applications filed before November 1, 2023, employees are not allowed to use accrued paid leave on the same days that they are receiving PFML benefits. Employees’ accrued paid leave can only be used during the seven-day unpaid waiting period before the MA PFML benefits begin.

This is a welcome change for employees. Employers should be aware of this important update and work with their payroll division to create an internal procedure, such as the process to calculate the accrued paid leave to supplement MA PFML benefits at an employee’s request. The department has provided helpful information and FAQs regarding this update on the site below.

Department of Family and Medical Leave »