What is the Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave Act?

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) is a law that provides eligible Massachusetts employees with certain paid medical and family leaves.

On January 1, 2021, MIT made changes to its medical and family leave policies in response to the law. 

For background on the law, see below.

What Does the Law Provide?

Medical Leave

Up to 20 weeks of paid leave per year for an employee’s own serious health condition

Family Leave

  • Up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child
  • Up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year to care for a family member with a serious health condition
  • Paid leaves relating to a family member in the armed services (either up to 12 weeks or 26 weeks, depending on the reason for the leave)

An employee may take up to 26 weeks of paid leave (total) per year. The amount of pay is set by a state formula, up to a weekly maximum (details on the state formula rate).

How Did MIT Respond?

See below for an overview of the changes MIT made in 2021 in response to the law.

Leaves

Most of MIT’s current sick and family leave benefits already complied with the PFMLA. We expanded our leave benefits in certain respects where the state law requires longer leave periods or extends paid leave benefits to certain categories of employees who are not currently eligible for our benefits.

Visit the Employee Leaves site to see an overview of the various leave types that are available to employees.

Sick time tracking

MIT must track sick time for all employees to ensure we comply with the law. Sick time is now accrued on a monthly basis for all staff, including salaried staff.

Other changes

To ensure compliance with the state paid leave law and efficient administration of our resulting leave benefits, MIT contracted with Workpartners, a leave administration vendor. Workpartners will work with employees and leave supervisors to ensure that employees are informed of their rights and options for a serious health condition leave, and also to ensure that leave time is properly tracked. See how to request a leave.

Leaves at Lincoln Laboratory will continue to be managed by their HR administrators.

See MIT's PFMLA Plan (MIT login required) for additional PFMLA leave details.

More Background on the PFMLA

MIT is committed to providing an environment that is accessible and inclusive for individuals with disabilities. If you need a disability-related accommodation to access the materials below, please email leavepolicies@mit.edu.

Notices

In 2025, the maximum weekly benefit rate will be $1,170.64.

2024 notices

In 2024, the maximum weekly benefit rate is $1,149.90.

2024 PFML employee notice - English

p>

Other languages:

العربية (Arabic) | 中文 (Chinese) | Français (French) | Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole) | Italiano (Italian) | ខ្មែរ (Khmer) | 한국어 (Korean) | ພາສາລາວ (Lao) | Português (Portuguese) | Español (Spanish) | Русский (Russian) | Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

Workplace posters

2024 posters

2024 PFML mandatory workplace poster - English

Other languages:

العربية (Arabic) | 中文 (Chinese) | Français (French) | Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole) | Italiano (Italian) | ខ្មែរ (Khmer) | 한국어 (Korean) | ພາສາລາວ (Lao) | Português (Portuguese) | Español (Spanish) | Русский (Russian) | Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)

Learn More