MARYLAND – Family and Medical Plan Leave Program Delayed
Maryland recently announced that they will be delaying the start of their Family and Medical Leave (FAMLI) program until 2024. Employers will now begin to withhold contributions for the program beginning October 1, 2024 (previously October 1, 2023) and employees can begin accessing benefits beginning January 1, 2026 (previously January 1, 2025).
The amount of withholding will be capped at 1.2% of an employee’s income up to the social security wage base. The withholding rates are set by the Maryland Secretary of Labor and employers are required to provide employees notice of changes. Employers with 15 or more employees must pay 50% of the contributions but may opt to pay more if notice is given to their employees.
Employee benefits will be capped at 100% of an employee’s average weekly wage. This program has also been expanded to cover bonding time with new children and includes domestic partners as covered family members. Unless otherwise agreed upon by the employee, employers cannot require the employee to use other paid leave options before or at the same time as FAMLI leave.
OKLAHOMA – Disaster Unemployment Assistance Deadline is June 5
Individuals and businesses in the areas impacted by the severe weather on April 19 and 20 in Pottawatomie and McClain counties are now eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits. Applications must be received by June 5, 2023. To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the date the DUA application is filed.
DUA, which is an unemployment insurance benefit made available after a disaster, is only available to individuals who:
• Have applied for and used all regular unemployment benefits from any state, or do not qualify for unemployment benefits.
• Worked or were self-employed or scheduled to begin work or self-employment in the disaster area.
• Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster.
• Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.
• Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster.
• Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of household.
All individuals must file an unemployment insurance claim at https://oklahoma.gov/oesc/individuals. For more information or questions, individuals can call the Unemployment Service Center at 405-525-1500 or visit one of OESC’s field offices. A list and map of all field offices can be found at https://oklahoma.gov/oesc/locations. Additionally, impacted individuals may visit OESC’s website or any field office for reemployment services.
The deadline to submit a claim for DUA is June 5, 2023. Applications submitted after that date will be considered untimely unless the individual provides good cause for filing after the deadline. Within seven days of submitting a claim for unemployment, individuals must register for an account on and complete/upload their resume to https://okjobmatch.com/.
