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The beginning of a new year is an opportune time to provide employers with a summary of recent developments and updates with respect to state-mandated paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs and paid leave laws for 2026.
Before diving into the leave updates and developments for 2026, let’s first clarify that state-mandated paid leave and PFML laws are separate programs that serve different purposes, as outlined below:
Let’s start with several developments and updates outlined below for January 1, 2026:
|
Category |
Jurisdiction |
Important Date(s) |
Important Details |
|---|---|---|---|
|
PFML |
Colorado |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026, employees are eligible for up to twelve additional weeks of Colorado PFML benefits if their child receives inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), applicable for the duration of the NICU stay. Employees are still eligible for the full 12 weeks of bonding leave offered under Colorado PFML after their child is discharged from the NICU. Additionally, the CO PFML premium for employees is reduced from 0.9% of wages to 0.88% of wages, effective January 1, 2026. Click here for a Colorado state webpage with more information, and here for a refresher article on Colorado PFML. |
|
PFML |
Delaware |
January 1, 2026 |
Delaware PFML benefit effective date is January 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details. |
|
PFML |
Minnesota |
January 1, 2026 |
The start date for Minnesota PFML employer and employee contributions and benefit effective date is January 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details. |
|
PFML |
Rhode Island |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026: Rhode Island’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) program includes the following updates:
|
|
PFML |
Washington State |
January 1, 2026 |
Washington PFML has been amended by HB 1213 to provide expanded employee protections, effective January 1, 2026. Click here for more details regarding these expansions. |
|
Unpaid Leave |
California |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective Jan. 1, 2026, California’s existing prohibitions on discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against employees taking unpaid leave time to serve as a juror or witness, or to seek certain services as victims of specific crimes, is expanded to protect employees who are victims of specific crimes (or whose family member is a victim) from taking time off to attend judicial proceedings related to those crimes. See the link to California AB 406 here for more information. |
|
Paid Leave |
Connecticut |
January 1, 2026 |
Connecticut’s paid sick leave law requirements are expanded to include more employers and employees in Connecticut, specifically all employers with 11 or more employees, beginning January 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details. |
|
Paid Leave |
Illinois |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026, employers with employees in Illinois must compensate employees at their regular rate of compensation during lactation breaks. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details. Effective January 1, 2026, Illinois HB1616 amends the Illinois Blood and Organ Donation Leave Act to expand eligibility for blood and organ donor leave to part-time employees, who may now use up to 10 days of leave in any 12-month period to serve as an organ donor. Employers must calculate the daily average pay the part-time employee received during his or her previous 2 months of employment and compensate them in the amount of the daily average pay for the leave days used. |
|
Unpaid Leave |
New Hampshire |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026, employers with at least 20 employees working in New Hampshire are required to provide 25 hours of job-protected, unpaid leave to attend:
If both parents work for the same employer, they must share the 25 hours of leave in their child’s first year between them. While the leave is unpaid, employees may substitute any accrued vacation time or “other appropriate paid leave” during the leave. Employees are required to provide reasonable notice to the employer before taking leave, and they must make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave to avoid undue disruptions to the employer’s operations. Employers may require documentation in support of the leave. See the link to the New Hampshire state budget bill passed in 2025 here, which includes this new unpaid leave requirement, for more information. |
|
Paid Leave |
Oregon |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026, employees may use Oregon sick time for blood donation made in connection with a voluntary program approved or accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross, in accordance with Oregon Senate Bill 1108. |
|
Paid Leave |
Pittsburgh |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026, the city of Pittsburgh amended its paid sick leave ordinance to provide for faster accrual and increased paid sick leave hours for eligible employees.[1] Eligible employees accrue Pittsburgh paid sick time at the rate of at least one hour per every 30 hours (up from 35) worked in Pittsburgh. Additionally, employers are required to permit a maximum accrual of Pittsburgh paid sick leave:
Previously, employers with at least 15 employees were required to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave, while smaller employers were required to provide 24 hours of paid sick leave. Click here for more information. |
|
Unpaid Leave |
Washington State |
January 1, 2026 |
Effective January 1, 2026, Washington State’s Domestic Violence Leave Law protections, including a reasonable amount of unpaid leave, are expanded to include victims of hate crimes. Click here for a Washington State webpage with more information. |
Now let’s focus on the updates for the remainder of 2026 (subject to changes pending any future developments):
|
Category |
Jurisdiction |
Important Date(s) |
Important Details |
|---|---|---|---|
|
PFML |
Maine |
May 1, 2026 |
Maine PFML benefit effective date is May 1, 2026. Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details. |
|
Paid Leave |
New York City |
February 22, 2026 |
Beginning February 22, 2026, New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) and the Temporary Schedule Change Act (TSCA) will be updated as a result of recent amendments to both laws by the New York City Council, which include the following changes:
Click here for a Risk Strategies article with more details. |
|
Unpaid Leave |
Illinois |
June 1, 2026 |
Effective June 1, 2026, the Family Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act (NICU Leave Act) will require employers to provide unpaid, job-protected leave to Illinois employees with a child in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The NICU Leave Act applies to all employers with at least 16 employees and requires unpaid leave while the employee’s child is a NICU patient.
Leave may be intermittent or continuous, but the employer may require that it be used in increments of at least two hours. The NICU Leave Act also specifies that this leave is granted in addition to any leave provided under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Employees are not required to use paid leave when their child is a NICU patient, but may choose to do so. Employees must be reinstated to their previous position, with no loss of benefits or health insurance coverage, after the leave period. Employers may request reasonable verification of the child's NICU stay, except for confidential medical information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) or other law. |
Washington State PFML Expansions (Effective January 1, 2026)
Job Protection Rights: Before January 1, 2026, the job protection rights under Washington State PFML law applied only to employees who:
HB 1213 lowers the employer size threshold for job protection rights, and provides an employee with job protection if they began employment with a qualifying employer at least 180 calendar days before taking leave, rather than the prior 1,250 hours/12 months requirement.
Additionally, the job restoration requirement will apply to employers with fewer than 50 employees, under a phased-in timeline detailed below:
In case you missed them, see below for key PFML and paid leave developments in 2025:
Click here for a Risk Strategies article summarizing additional noteworthy 2025 PFML and paid leave developments.
Employers, particularly multistate employers, are advised to pay close attention to any PFML and/or paid leave developments and updates impacting their employees working in the jurisdictions detailed above.
Depending on the effective date, these employers are advised to work with their employment and labor counsel, as well as leave consultants, to:
Risk Strategies helps employers navigate the ever-changing and complex state PFML and paid leave landscape. Contact your Risk Strategies account team with any questions, or contact us directly here.
[1] Eligible employee under the Pittsburgh paid sick leave ordinance means an individual employed by an employer who performs work within the geographic boundaries of the City of Pittsburgh for at least 35 hours in a calendar year.
The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and Risk Strategies Company makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of any information contained herein. Any recommendations contained herein are intended to provide insight based on currently available information for consideration and should be vetted against applicable legal and business needs before application to a specific client.
