Maternity and Parental Leave Laws in Maryland

If you work in Maryland, Maryland's Parental Leave Act gives you the right to take time off for parenting, and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives you the right to take unpaid leave for pregnancy, childbirth, or parenting.

In addition, Maryland law and the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) prohibit your employer from discriminating against you because of your pregnancy, which might also give you the right to take time off work. Finally, Maryland state law and the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require employers to provide pregnant employees with reasonable accommodations (including leave when necessary).

None of those laws provide paid leave, but in 2026, a new Maryland law will provide most employees with paid maternity and parental leave. Read on to learn about the laws that currently protect Maryland workers and the benefits that will soon be available to expecting and new parents.

Unpaid Time Off During Pregnancy in Maryland

There are three types of laws in Maryland that might protect you if you need to take pregnancy leave:

• laws prohibiting pregnancy discrimination
• laws requiring reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, and
• laws requiring pregnancy leave.

Pregnancy Discrimination Laws in Maryland

The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) doesn't require employers to give pregnant employees time off work. But the PDA does require employers to treat employees who can't work due to pregnancy the same as employees who are temporarily disabled for other reasons. (42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k).)

For example, if your company lets employees take time off for temporary disabilities like a bad back or injured wrist, you must be allowed to take the same time off when you can't work due to pregnancy.

Maryland state law also requires employers to make the same leave available to employees who can't work because of pregnancy and childbirth that's available to employees temporarily disabled by other conditions. (Md. Code, State Gov't § 20–606.) Under the law, if you can't work while pregnant, your employer must treat you like other temporarily disabled employees for purposes of sick leave and disability leave (or insurance) plans.

Reasonable Accommodation for Pregnancy in Maryland

A recent federal law, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2023 (PWFA), gives pregnant employees the right to take time off work when it's medically necessary. The PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations when an employee needs them due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. (42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-1.) Under this law, reasonable accommodations can include time off work.

Similarly, Maryland state law also gives pregnant employees the right to a reasonable accommodation, including changes to their position or work rules that will allow them to do their jobs. (Md. Code, State Gov't § 20-609.) Under the law, reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and childbirth might include any of the following:

• making changes to your work duties
• making changes to your work schedule
• making changes to your work area
• providing electrical or mechanical aids (for example, to assist with lifting)
• transferring you to a position that is less hazardous or less strenuous (such as light duty), or
• allowing you to take time off work.

Your employer can require you to provide a medical certification from your doctor that the accommodation you request is medically advisable, but only if it requires employees with other temporary disabilities to do the same.

Learn when you might be entitled to time off work as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

New Maryland Family and Medical Leave Laws for 2026

Current state laws don't specifically require Maryland employers to allow employees to take time off when they can't work due to pregnancy. But that's about to change, thanks to the Time to Care Act of 2022, which created a paid family leave program for employees in Maryland.

Under the new Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, covered employees will be entitled to job-protected, paid leave for pregnancy or a serious health condition. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 8.3-706 and 8.3-904.) Coverage begins on January 1, 2026. To be covered by the FAMLI leave program, you must work for a Maryland employer (with at least one employee) and have worked at least 680 hours for an employer in the 12 months immediately before your leave begins. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3-101(d).)

Under the law, covered employees can take leave if they have a qualifying reason (which includes pregnancy and childbirth) and give appropriate notice to their employers when possible.

This new law allows covered employees to use up to 12 weeks of FAMLI leave per year. But if you use 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new baby and then have a serious health condition, you can get an additional 12 weeks of FAMLI leave. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3–702(a).) You can get this extra time off no matter which qualifying event comes first.

Once the program begins, you'll be able to take FAMLI leave intermittently—in four-hour blocks. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3–701(c).) So, for instance, you'll be able to use FAMLI leave to take a few hours off for prenatal doctor visits.

Until 2026, when FAMLI program benefits become available, some employees in Maryland can use the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to take up to 12 weeks off work a year for pregnancy (and other things). But the FMLA applies only to employers with at least 50 employees and FMLA leave is unpaid.

If you qualify, you can use the FMLA to take time off when you can't work because of pregnancy or childbirth. You can also take FMLA leave a little at a time if needed. (Learn more about using FMLA leave during pregnancy, including eligibility requirements.)

Once the FAMLI leave law takes affect, medical or parental leave taken under the state's FAMLI law runs concurrently with FMLA leave. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3–702(b).) So you can't double up on job-protected leave by taking 12 weeks of state leave and then another 12 weeks of FMLA leave.

Unpaid Parenting Leave in Maryland

As a parent, you can use the federal FMLA to take time off work to bond with a new child when:

• your biological child is born
• a child you've adopted is placed in your home, or
• a foster child is placed in your care.

This parental leave is part of your total 12-week leave entitlement. So, if you use two weeks of FMLA leave during your pregnancy, you'll have ten weeks left for parenting leave. Again, the FMLA applies only to employers with at least 50 employees.

Maryland's state Parental Leave Act is intended to provide parenting leave to employees who work for smaller employers. Maryland employers with at least 15 employees (but fewer than 50 employees) must allow eligible employees to take up to six weeks of unpaid leave for parenting. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 3–1201 and 3–1202.)

Under this state law, to be eligible for leave, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours during the year before your leave begins (the same as the FMLA). In addition, you must work at a job site where your employer has at least 15 employees within 75 miles.

Part-Time or Reduced Schedule Leave

The FMLA allows employees to take their leave intermittently if it's medically necessary. For example, if you have a prenatal check-up, you don't have to take a whole day off. You can instead use a couple of hours of your FMLA leave and then go back to work.

The same is true for pregnancy-related ailments that don't last all day—like morning sickness that lives up to its name. The FMLA allows you to take a few hours off in the morning and then come to work at lunchtime when you feel better.

For parental leave, however, the rules are different. If you want to use your FMLA parenting leave intermittently, your employer must agree to it. If your employer agrees to let you use FMLA parental leave intermittently, you must complete your time off within one year of the baby's birth.

Maryland's Parental Leave Act doesn't address whether or not parents may take their leave intermittently. But once the new FAMLI program begins in 2026, you'll have the right to take parental leave intermittently under the state law.

Parents Who Work for the Same Employer

If you're married to someone who works for the same company, your employer can limit your total amount of FMLA leave for parenting to 12 weeks for both of you—meaning you have to share the 12 weeks. (This restriction doesn't appear in Maryland's Parental Leave Act or the FAMLI law.)

Whatever portion of your own 12 weeks of FMLA leave you don't use for parenting will still be available to you for other reasons, including your own serious health condition.

Paid Maternity and Parental Leave Under the FAMLI Program

Starting January 1, 2026, the FAMLI program will provide paid family leave for most employees in Maryland. The program will pay up to 12 weeks of benefits when you take time off to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

You can also collect FAMLI benefits during parental leave to bond with a new child after your baby is born and during the adoption or foster placement process. But you must use FAMLI parental leave benefits for bonding during the first year after the child's birth or placement in your home. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3–302(1).)

The FAMLI benefit amount is calculated using percentages of both your average weekly earnings and the statewide average. And the amount will change each year based on the consumer price index. But for 2026, the minimum benefit amount is $50 per week, and the maximum is $1,000 per week. (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 8.3–703(b).)

Getting Paid During Your Time Off Before FAMLI Begins

FMLA pregnancy and parenting leave are unpaid, as is time off under the Maryland Parental Leave Act. But you can ask your employer to use any accrued paid leave you have (like sick days, vacation, or PTO) to get paid during your time off. (Your employer might actually require you to use your accrued paid leave.)

Some employers already offer paid benefits like:

• company-paid maternity and paternity leave
• parental benefits, or
• group short-term disability insurance.

Talk to your HR representative or manager (and check your employee handbook) to find out what types of leave are available to you.

If your employer doesn't offer paid leave covering your pregnancy, you might consider buying a private short-term disability policy if you need to take pregnancy leave before 2026. Learn more about private short-term disability policies for pregnancy.