September is over, and with a new month comes new leave legislation that reminds employers to keep on their toes regarding their compliance requirements. Last week, we wrote about Maryland’s new Parental Leave Act in our latest blog post for API Healthcare. In case you missed it, here’s a summary of the law’s new requirements for employers.

Maryland’s Parental Leave Act was signed on May 5, 2015, and went into effect on October 1. Applicable to all employers with 15 to 49 employees, the new act will entitle employees to six workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period to bond with a biological, foster or adoptive child.

To be covered under the Act, employees must fulfil similar conditions to those of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA):

-Employees must have worked for their employer for a 12-month period.

-They must have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months before their requested leave begins.

-They must be employed at a site where at least 15 employees work within a 75-mile radius.

Also like the FMLA, the Act requires employers to continue any contributions towards an employee’s health care coverage throughout their leave. The Act joins other Maryland leave legislation, including Military, Jury Duty and Disaster Relief leaves.

Overwhelmed with the new requirements? An Absence Management software solution like Presagia Enterprise can help your organization achieve peace of mind by monitoring new and updated leave laws for you. Contact us at info@presagia.com to schedule a free online demo!