Final regulations for the Maryland Time to Care Act (TCA) have been published

Final regulations for the Maryland Time to Care Act (TCA) have now been published by the Maryland Department of Labor (DOL) (https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/09.42).

These regulations incorporate no substantive changes from the proposed regulations released in October 2025. The Maryland Department of Labor (DOL) has also recently released two important updates:

• The application window for employers who wish to submit their Declaration of Intent (DOI) to offer a private plan will be September 1, 2026 – November 15, 2026
• Total premium rate for the State Plan, effective January 1 – December 31, 2027, will be 0.9%, consistent with the rate previously published by DOL

With the timeframes confirmed by DOL, employers can now move forward in making important decisions for complying with the TCA mandate, for which benefits become effective in January 2028. Key next steps should include:

1. Evaluate the possibility of offering a private plan in lieu of being auto-enrolled in the default State Plan; advantages for offering a private plan include:
   1. Avoid paying 12 months of advanced premium to the State Plan beginning in 2027 (unlike private insured plans, the State Plan will require a full year’s worth of premium to paid prior to the January 2028 benefits effective date)
   2. Potentially secure a lower premium rate than the 0.9% State Plan rate through competitive bidding with private insurance carriers approved by the State
2. Submit to DOL to a Declaration of Intent (DOI) to offer a private plan; submission can be done between September 1, 2026 – November 15, 2026
3. Evaluate potential changes to existing paid leave benefits, noting that TCA-mandated benefits will likely overlap with existing employer-provided leave benefits
4. Determine what percentage of premium cost to share with employees (employers will be allowed to charge employees up to 50% of the premium cost of the State Plan)
5. Consider and plan for the financial, administrative and workforce challenges tied to the 2028 implementation of TCA-mandated benefits

Additional details on TCA are provided below. Please feel free to contact your Bolton team for guidance on how your organization can comply with TCA is the least disruptive, most cost-effective manner.

Overview

The Maryland Time to Care Act (TCA) created the Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program. The law will require all Maryland employers to provide workers up to 12 weeks (in some cases 24 weeks) of job-protected paid leave to care for themselves or certain family members when specific criteria are met. Benefits are set to begin in January 2028. Employers have 3 options for providing FAMLI benefits:

• Option 1 – State Plan: Under the State Plan, employers will pay a premium for coverage to be provided through a state-administered plan; this is the default option
• Option 2 – Self-funded Equivalent Private Insurance Plan (EPIP): Employers can either self-administer the benefits or hire a third-party administrator/insurance carrier to administer the benefits on a self-funded basis
• Option 3 – Insured Equivalent Private Insurance Plan (EPIP): Employers can hire an insurance carrier approved by the Maryland Insurance Administration to provide the benefits on an insured basis

Employers will be automatically enrolled in the State Plan (Option 1) unless they notify DOL that they plan to offer an EPIP (Option 2 or 3); for details on opting out of the State Plan, please see below.

Benefits

Employees will be eligible for benefits if they have worked at least 680 hours in Maryland (with any combination of employers) over the 12-month period immediately preceding the date on which leave is to begin. Employees will be able to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave per year to:

• Welcome a new child
• Attend to an employee’s own serious health condition
• Care for a family member with a serious health condition
• Care for a next of kin military service member with a serious health condition
• Attend to qualifying military exigencies

An employee can qualify for up to 24 weeks per year if time is needed to (a) welcome a new child and (b) attend to an employee’s own serious health condition.

While out on qualifying leave, the employee will receive 90% of salary for wages up to 65% of Maryland’s Average Weekly Wage (AWW) plus 50% of salary over 65% of AWW, subject to a cap of $1,000 weekly cap.

Cost of Coverage

The premium cost for the State Plan is currently set at 0.90% of payroll up to the Social Security Wage Base; this amount may be modified in the future by the State. Premiums for the State Plan (Option 1 above) are set to begin in January 2027 (i.e., 12 months prior to the January 2028 effective date for benefits). Employers who offer coverage through an EPIP with an insurance carrier (Option 3) will be responsible for paying premiums beginning in January 2028. Final premium rates for an insured EPIP with a carrier (option 3) will likely not be available until 2027, once the insurance carriers receive approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration. Employers who offer a self-funded EPIP (Option 2) will be required to meet certain pre-funding and ongoing funding requirements to be established by DOL. Employers will be allowed to charge employees up to 50% of the premium cost of the State Plan, regardless of whether they offer the State Plan or an EPIP.

Process for Opting Out of the State Plan

To offer an EPIP (Option 2 or 3) for 2028, an employer will need to receive approval from DOL through a 2-step process:

1. EPIP Declaration of Intent – Between September 1, 2026, and November 15, 2026, the employer will need to submit to DOL a Declaration of Intent to offer an EPIP
2. EPIP Application – During 2027 (submission period to be determined by DOL), the employer will need to submit to DOL an application to offer an EPIP

An employer who submits an EPIP Declaration of Intent to DOL in 2026 will not be required to pay premiums in 2027 while waiting to receive approval from DOL for their EPIP Application. However, the employer will be required to collect and hold in escrow the amount necessary to cover the premium cost for the State Plan if the State does not ultimately approve the EPIP Application (local governmental employers, as defined under Section 19-602 of the Maryland Insurance Code, are exempt from this escrow requirement).

RFP Process to Secure Private Plan Rates

Bolton will be assisting employers in conducting competitive bidding with private insurance carriers approved by the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA). This will likely include a 2-stage RFP process to identify viable options from private insurance carriers:

• Stage 1 – Later this year, once we have approval from the Maryland Insurance Administration, we will solicit illustrative premium rates from insurance carriers who are seeking approval from MIA to offer insured EPIP coverage
• Stage 2 – During 2027, once insurance carriers have received formal approval from MIA to offer insured EPIP coverage, we will solicit proposals from carriers for final premium rates for insured EPIP coverage

For additional information on the RFPs Bolton will be conducting for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education / Maryland Association of Counties / Maryland Municipal League or the Maryland Independent College and University Association, please contact your Bolton team.