An Act amending Title 12 (Commerce and Trade) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, establishing cause of action for antitrust conduct, for indirect purchaser recovery under State antitrust laws and for premerger notice of health care mergers and transactions; and imposing penalties.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jay Costa and 8 co-sponsors

Exempts private Maryland employers with 15-49 workers that are FMLA-covered from the state's six weeks of unpaid parental leave under MPLA.

Referred to Judiciary

Summary — SB 785 (Chapter 296): Labor and Employment — Unpaid Parental Leave — Definition of Employer

Status
- Enacted as Chapter 296; approved by the Governor (May 6, 2025).
- Effective date: October 1, 2025.

Purpose
- To narrow which private employers in Maryland must provide unpaid parental leave under the Maryland Parental Leave Act (MPLA) by excluding employers who are covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for the current calendar year.

Key provisions
- Amends the MPLA employer definition (Art. — Labor and Employment §3‑1201(c)):
- “Employer” continues to mean a person who employs at least 15 but not more than 49 individuals in Maryland for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year;
- Adds that such an “employer” is not covered by the MPLA if the employer is covered under the federal FMLA for the current calendar year.
- Does not change other MPLA statutory provisions: eligible employee criteria (12 months of service and 1,250 hours in prior 12 months), up to six weeks of unpaid parental leave in a 12‑month period, and the employer’s obligation to maintain group health plan coverage during leave (with possible premium recovery in specified circumstances).
- Existing exclusions remain: the MPLA does not apply to State or local governments as employers.

Who is affected
- Employers previously subject to the MPLA (private employers with 15–49 employees in the State) who also meet the federal FMLA coverage threshold will be exempt from the State’s six‑week unpaid parental‑leave requirement.
- Employees of employers that become exempt because the employer is FMLA‑covered may lose access to the state‑provided six weeks if they would not independently meet FMLA eligibility rules (e.g., insufficient hours or not working at a location with 50 employees within 75 miles).
- Small businesses: fiscal note characterizes the small business impact as minimal.

Fiscal and administrative impact
- Maryland Department of Labor: can implement the change with existing resources (no estimated fiscal effect).
- State and local governments: no effect because the MPLA previously did not apply to them.

Notes and context
- The federal FMLA generally provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave and continuation of group health benefits for eligible employees at covered employers (generally employers with 50+ employees). This bill aligns the State requirement so employers already subject to federal leave protections are not separately required to provide the six weeks under Maryland law.