"The Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance Program, which is part of the Rhode Island State Temporary Disability Insurance Program provides wage replacement benefits for employees who take time off of work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or to bond with a new child. Added to this list in 2026 are siblings, which are defined in the law to mean children with a common parent, including biological siblings, half-siblings, step-siblings, foster siblings and adopted siblings." MORE >>
"When a school closes for part of a week during which an employee uses less than a full week of FMLA leave, the period during which the school is closed is not counted as FMLA leave, unless the employee was scheduled and expected to work during the period and used FMLA leave for that time. When a school closes for part of a week during which an employee is using a full week of FMLA leave, however, the entire week is counted as FMLA leave." MORE >>
"[An] employee may use FMLA-protected leave that counts against his or her FMLA entitlement to travel to or from a medical appointment for a serious health condition. Additionally, a health care provider need not provide an estimate of an employee's travel time to or from an appointment for the medical certification to be complete and sufficient under the Act." MORE >>
"FMLA leave can include reasonable travel time to medical appointments. Medical certifications do not need to micromanage commute estimates. Partial‑week closures do not expand or shrink FMLA entitlements. For intermittent or reduced‑schedule leave, charge only the time the employee would have worked and actually missed -- and nothing more." MORE >>
"[T]he New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) ... was amended to expand benefits to employees ... by: [1] providing 32 hours of unpaid safe/sick leave to new employees upon hire and to all employees at the beginning of each benefit year, in addition to the required paid safe/sick leave; [2] expanding the categories for which employees can use safe/sick leave; and [3] codifying paid prenatal leave into New York City law. These changes go into effect on February 22, 2026." MORE >>
"On December 19, Governor Kathy Hochul signed Assembly Bill 4727 into law, expanding PFL eligibility to many construction workers who work for multiple employers under a collective bargaining agreement each year. The amendment does not take effect until January 1, 2027, and raises important planning considerations for employers that are parties to these collective bargaining agreements." MORE >>
23 pages. "An employer who makes sick payments directly to its employees will treat such payments as regular wages. The employer will withhold and remit the proper taxes and report the proper amounts on the employee's Form W-2. These rules become more complex when the payer of sick pay is a third party (for example, a Health and Welfare Fund)." MORE >>
"Colorado lawmakers recently changed the state's paid family and medical leave (FAMLI) program to reduce the premiums and add an extra twelve weeks for employees who are parents of a child receiving inpatient treatment in neonatal intensive care. The new rules [took] effect on January 1, 2026." MORE >>
"The appellate court found that Haran's FMLA retaliation claim failed because 'any reasonable jury would be required to find that OBS terminated her based on her job performance, not her request for or decision to take leave.' ... [1] Make sure managers know to contact HR when employees request time off for medical reasons.... [2] Make sure performance reviews are clear and complete.... [3] If you misstate something (or it is misunderstood), correct it in real time." [Haran v. Orange Business Services, No. 24-2312 (2d Cir. Nov. 25, 2025)] MORE >>
"Business leaders have repeatedly sought to roll back the law, saying it puts an undue burden on employers. Many of those employers, particularly small businesses, have struggled to understand and implement the new benefit by the Jan. 1 deadline.... At the same time many Minnesotans are counting on the program, which allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave at up to 90% pay." MORE >>
"Effective January 1, 2026, Connecticut's paid sick leave law will apply to employers with 11 or more employees, lowering the threshold from 25 employees in 2025. Then, starting January 1, 2027, the law will cover almost all remaining employers with at least one employee." MORE >>
"The PSDA Revised Guidelines both add new obligations and provide additional guidance to employers that provide paid sick leave to employees in the City. The Revised Guidelines will take effect on January 1, 2026 (when both the accrual rate and the amount of paid sick leave available under the PSDA will increase)." MORE >>
"[Minnesota's] highly anticipated Paid Family Medical Leave fully launches on Jan. 1, with applications already live for those who welcomed a child in 2025.The program offers up to 12 weeks for both medical and family leave -- with a total limit of 20 weeks a year. Over 5,000 Minnesotans have already submitted applications for leave to bond with children welcomed in 2025 after applications opened in December, according to Gov. Tim Walz's office." MORE >>
"The IRS explained that the extension is in response to requests from states administering PFML programs that need additional time to update systems, budgets, and reporting processes to align with the federal tax treatment clarified in Revenue Ruling 2025-4. Importantly, [Notice 2026-6] does not extend transition relief related to voluntary employer 'pick-up' contributions, which remain subject to federal employment tax and reporting requirements." MORE >>
"This extension provides continued penalty relief for noncompliance with federal tax withholding and reporting requirements for state-paid medical leave benefits attributable to employer contributions through the end of 2026. Employers must still treat 'pick-up' contributions as wages for federal employment tax purposes and report them on Form W-2 for 2026." MORE >>
"[IRS] announced that it extended the grace period for states and employers to report tax information about benefits paid through a state's paid family and medical leave program. For 2026, states and employers will not have to comply with tax and income reporting obligations related to those benefits.... Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted state-run paid family and medical leave programs." MORE >>
"Under these rules, medical leave benefits paid by a state to employees -- when funded by employer contributions -- are considered taxable income and wages for federal employment tax purposes. [IRS Notice 2026-6 provides that], for 2026, states and employers are not required to follow the usual income tax withholding and reporting requirements for these payments and will not face penalties for noncompliance." MORE >>
"FAMLI will provide up to an additional twelve weeks of leave for individuals taking care of an infant in NICU. Employers may require an employee to apply for or exhaust FAMLI as a requisite to accessing employer provided benefits pursuant to the employer's applicable policy but not as a prerequisite to accessing any types of leave that an employer is required to provide or that the individual may be eligible to apply for by law." MORE >>
"When qualifying employees for and/or calculating bonus payments or incentives, employers must treat employees who take FMLA leave the same as those who are on 'an equivalent leave status for a reason that does not qualify as FMLA leave.' ...Most state leave laws don't specifically address whether you can deny a bonus to someone who uses state or local paid sick leave. In those cases, you could probably apply the same standard you use for FMLA. But be careful! Many of these laws include anti-retaliation provisions that might come into play." MORE >>
"This notice extends for an additional year the transition period provided in Revenue Ruling 2025-4 for States administering paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs and employers participating in such programs with respect to the portion of medical leave benefits a State pays to an individual that is attributable to employer contributions." MORE >>
"New York City employers will continue to be required to provide leave for employees who are absent due to illness, preventative medical care, to provide care for a family member, and certain workplace closures resulting from public health emergencies. In addition, employees are entitled to 'safe time' for absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking." MORE >>
"The changes set to take effect on January 1, 2026 once again increase the employee benefit and contribution caps established by the PFL program.... PFL benefits are separate and distinct from those provided by the New York State Paid Sick Leave (PSL) law, under which accrued benefits vary on the basis of employer size. " MORE >>
"[W]ithout a thoughtful framework, paid sick leave, family and medical leave, short-term disability, and accommodation obligations intersect in ways that make leave management one of HR's most challenging tasks. Employers who treat leave reactively risk coverage gaps, compliance exposure, and frustrated employees.... Clear policies that are well-communicated and consistently applied are the antidote." MORE >>
"Beginning in 2026, more employers providing paid family and medical leave that meets certain requirements can take advantage of a general business tax credit ranging from 12.5% to 25% of wages paid to qualifying employees for up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave per taxable year." MORE >>
"Prior to February 2026, New York City employers should: [1] Update policies, notices, and human resources and accounting systems to reflect two distinct sick and safe leave entitlements: [a] Existing ESSTA paid sick and safe time. [b] A new 32-hour unpaid sick and safe bank available at hire and each January 1 thereafter. [2] Offer training to handle expanded qualifying reasons for sick and safe time and to respond 'as soon as practicable' to TSCA schedule-change requests, recognizing that employees need not accept alternatives." MORE >>
