Unbelievably, paid family leave is still not a guaranteed federal right in the US. That’s true even though about 70% of moms work full-time or part-time, and nearly half of two-parent families have both partners working full-time.
So if you’re wondering what your paid or unpaid (yes, that’s a thing) benefits are, you have to look to your company, state, or the federal government for details.
So which states offer paid family leave?
Only thirteen states and Washington, D.C. offer some form of paid family leave. But each place offers a different number of weeks and a different percentage of your salary. Plus, only some workers qualify.
Note: We mention a “base year” below, which refers to the full calendar year prior to you applying for leave.
California:
Number of weeks covered: Up to eight weeks per year.
Income allowance: 60-70% of weekly income earned five to 18 months prior to your claim start date. Calculate how much you’ll receive here.
Who qualifies: CA workers need to be employed or looking for work when their leave begins, have lost wages due to taking leave, made at least $300 during your base period, and had state disability insurance deductions withheld.
When to apply: No earlier than your first day of leave and no later than 41 days after your family leave began. Apply here.
Documents needed: SSN, CA driver’s license, employer’s info, wages you’ll receive from your employer, worker’s compensation claim info, proof of relationship, and more.
Things to know: Your citizenship or immigration status doesn’t impact your eligibility for paid family leave benefits.
Colorado:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks (people with pregnancy or childbirth complications are eligible for four extra weeks).
Income allowance: 37-90% of a worker’s wages, with a weekly cap of $1,100. Go here to find out how much you would receive.
Who qualifies: Colorado employees who have earned at least $2,500 in the state over a year.
Connecticut:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks (people with pregnancy complications are eligible for an additional two weeks).
Income allowance: The weekly wage benefit depends on income level. Go here to calculate how much you’d earn per week.
Who qualifies: CT workers that have earned “at least $2,325 in the highest quarter of the first four of the five most recently completed quarters and are currently employed, or have been employed within the last 12 weeks, or are self-employed, a sole proprietor and a Connecticut resident enrolled in the program.”
When to apply: 30 days before your first day of leave, or as soon as possible if leave is unexpected. Apply here.
Documents needed: Birth certificate, bonding statement, employment verification (plus one for sole proprietors or self-employed workers), and third-party authorization to release form.
Delaware:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks
Income allowance: Employees can receive up to 80% of their income, with a max of $900 per week.
Who qualifies: If you work for an employer with 10 workers or more, have been employed for at least a year, and worked at least 1,250 hours with one company. PS: You won’t qualify for full coverage if your employer has under 25 employees.
Things to know: Delaware’s PFL plan goes into full effect on January 1, 2026.
Maine:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks
Income allowance: The amount you’ll receive per week during your leave depends on your current income. If you make equal to or less than half of the state’s average weekly wage, then you’ll get 90% of your income. If you make more than half of the state’s average weekly wage, you'll get 66% of your income. However, benefits are capped at the state’s average weekly wage for the year.
Who qualifies: Residents who earned at least six times the state average weekly wage in the last year.
Things to know: Maine’s plan goes into effect beginning May 1, 2026.
Maryland:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks (or up to 24 in some circumstances).
Income allowance: Up to 90% of your weekly pay and a max of $1,000 per week.
Who qualifies: Employees who have worked at least 680 hours in the year preceding when their leave would begin, and who have elected to participate in the program by filing a written notice to the Secretary of Labor.
Things to know: Maryland’s paid family leave policy goes into effect July 1, 2026.
Massachusetts:
Number of weeks covered: 26 weeks per benefit year, depending on the qualifying reason. If you need to take leave for a new baby, you can take up to 12 weeks.
Income allowance: Weekly income cap at $1,149.90. If you aren’t sure how much you could get, use this online calculator.
Who qualifies: “Most employees who have earned at least $5,700 over the past four calendar quarters.” Plus, you have to have earned “at least 30x the benefit amount” you’re eligible for.
When to apply: 60 days before taking leave. Apply here.
Documents needed: State ID or driver’s license, bank account info, plus documents from your doctor that detail the reason you’re taking leave. See the full list of docs needed here.
Things to know: The official site says workers who need to take paid family leave should inform their employer before doing anything else. Once you do this, your job is protected.
Minnesota:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks. If you need to take family and medical leave in the same year, you can take a max of 20 weeks combined.
Income allowance: Depends on your current income.
Things to know: Minnesota’s plan goes into effect on January 1, 2026.
New Jersey:
Number of weeks covered: Up to 12 weeks.
Income allowance: Your base year earnings divided by your base weeks give you your weekly wage. You are then paid 85% of that weekly wage, with a max of $1,055 per week for 2024.
Who qualifies: NJ workers who have paid into the program through their job. You have to meet minimum wage requirements. As of 2024, you have to have worked 20 weeks and earned at least $283 a week. Or have combined earnings of $14,200 for the base year. Note: Federal government, out-of-state, faith-based org, and contract workers aren’t eligible.
When to apply: 60 days before taking leave. If you apply for leave after your leave begins, you have 30 days from your first day to apply. Start your application here.
Things to know: In NJ, you don’t have to use all of your leave at once, although you can. You can also take it day by day or in chunks of days or weeks. Note: If you take non-continuous leave, you can only take up to eight weeks of paid family leave. Plus, you will file those days after you take them, meaning you likely won’t get paid until after you’ve taken your leave. You have to inform your employer 30 days before taking continuous leave, and 15 days before taking non-continuous leave.
New York:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks max. Based on how many days you work per week. Example: 3 days average x 12 weeks = 36 days of leave (or about 7 work weeks).
Income allowance: 67% of your pay. The maximum weekly benefit is $1,151.16. Calculate how much you’d get here.
Who qualifies: NY employees who have worked 26 consecutive weeks for 20 or more hours per week, or have worked 175 days with regular hours under 20 per week. Self-employed workers and NY workers who live out of state are eligible. Note: Domestic workers who are hired by a private homeowner were added in 2022.
When to apply: Tell your employer 30 days before taking leave, or as soon as possible.
Documents needed: Request for Paid Family Leave (Form PFL-1), Bonding Certification (Form PFL-2), and your baby’s birth certificate (if you’re the birthing parent). For non-birthing parents, you must show a copy of the birth certificate naming you as the second parent or the birth certificate plus a document that shows your relation to the birth parent.
Things to know: Paid family leave in NY can only begin after your baby is born and must be taken within the first year. NY allows workers to take intermittent leave, but if more than three months pass between when you take another period of leave you must file a new claim. Note: your citizenship or immigration status won’t impact your eligibility.
Oregon:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks (in some circumstances you may be eligible for an extra two weeks).
Income allowance: It’s based on how much you make, but the minimum weekly amount is $63.48 while the max is $1,523.63. Many workers can earn 100% of their pay.
Who qualifies: Workers who earned at least $1,000 in the previous year and have contributed to the paid leave trust fund through paycheck deductions. PS: Self-employed workers and tribal governments can opt into the program.
When to apply: Inform your employer at least 30 days before you take leave (if you can). If you have to take unexpected leave, tell your employer within 24 hours of taking leave and give written notice within three days of your leave start date.
Rhode Island:
Number of weeks covered: Up to six. If you’re a birthing parent, you can receive eight weeks for a c-section (through the temporary disability insurance program), then you can apply for four weeks for bonding (through the paid family leave program).
Income allowance: Sixty percent of wages. The max amount is $795 per week and the minimum is $84 per week.
Who qualifies: You must be an RI employee (this includes people who work in RI but live outside of the state), have paid into the TDI/TCI fund, and earned at least $11,520 in your base period. If you didn’t earn the qualifying amount, you can still be eligible if you meet these requirements. Federal, state, and some municipal workers, plus “partners and non-incorporated self-employed workers” don’t qualify.
When to apply: You can apply during the first 30 days of your leave but have to be out of work for seven days before you can apply. Start your application here.
Things to know: Rhode Island calls its paid family leave policy “temporary caregiver insurance” (TCI), so look out for this name when applying.
Washington:
Number of weeks covered: 12 to 18 weeks. You can receive 16 weeks of leave for childbirth and bonding, and 18 weeks of leave for childbirth or pregnancy-related issues that leave you incapacitated.
Income allowance: Up to $1,456 per week, or 90% of your weekly pay. Find out how much you’d earn here.
Who qualifies: WA employees who worked a minimum of 820 hours during their qualifying period (aka the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters or the last four completed calendar quarters prior to your application for leave). FYI: full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers are eligible. Federal workers, workers for businesses on tribal land, self-employed workers who opt out of the state program, and workers covered by their employer’s plan aren’t immediately eligible. If you’re still unsure if you qualify, take this quiz to find out.
When to apply: After your first day of leave. Apply here.
Documents needed: ID (like a driver’s license or passport) and certification of birth form. See the full list here.
Washington D.C.:
Number of weeks covered: 12 weeks.
Income allowance: Max of $1,118 per week. Calculate how much you’ll earn here.
Who qualifies: Employees working for a Washington D.C. employer who reports your wages to the Department of Employment Services and pays taxes to Washington D.C. based on your pay. Your employer is required to tell you if you are covered or not. You must have been employed before taking leave to be eligible.
When to apply: You must inform your employer at least 10 days before taking leave. But under FMLA and DCFMLA, it’s required that you give at least a 30 days notice to your employer. You can apply for leave only after your leave begins. Apply here.
Documents needed: Some include a birth certificate, hospital admission form, “document from a medical provider who provided care to your newborn child,” court doc showing custody of the child, and document from an adoption or foster care agency.
Things to know: Apply for your leave ASAP after welcoming your new baby. If you wait longer than seven days, you won’t receive benefits for those days.
PS: If both your company and state offer some form of paid family leave, talk to your HR department about what your compensation and benefits look like combined.
What if my state doesn’t offer paid family leave?
If your state doesn’t offer leave (or enough financial compensation for you to take leave), your employer might chip in. As of 2021, 23% of private industry and civilian workers had access to paid family leave.
The number of weeks and percentage of pay available depends on the company, but check your company’s employee handbook to see if they offer paid family leave. And if they don’t, check out our proposal deck on how to ask your company for paid family leave. Or check out our database of over 500 companies that do offer paid family leave plus more for working parents.
How do I access the federal government’s unpaid family leave policy?
If your state or company doesn’t offer any form of paid family leave, you can apply for unpaid family leave through the federal government under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Just like with state policies, stipulations apply.
How many weeks of unpaid family leave am I eligible for from the federal government?
Up to 12 weeks for:
The birth and care of a newborn (within one year of birth). PS: Time taken off for pregnancy complications counts against the 12 unpaid weeks.
Placement of a child through adoption or foster care (within one year of placement).
Caring for a spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition.
Recovery from a serious health condition.
An event that occurs related to the worker’s family member being a covered military member on active duty. If the worker’s family member is a service member, then the worker can take up to 26 weeks of leave within one year to care for the service member if they have a serious injury or illness.
PS: If you and your spouse work for the same company, you can only take a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a year.
Who qualifies for unpaid family leave from the federal government?
To qualify you must have worked for your employer for at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and worked at a location where the company employs at least 50 people within 75 miles. By the way, this applies to all public agencies and public and private elementary and secondary schools.
If you work for the federal government, you may have access to paid parental leave through The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, which grants eligible federal workers up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. To be eligible, you must meet all of the requirements above.
When do I apply for the federal government’s unpaid family leave?
Let your employer know as soon as you can that you need to take family leave. If your leave is planned, as in the case of recovery from a scheduled surgery, it’s required that you let your employer know at least 30 days before your leave start date. It’s important to give your employer all the info they need to determine whether you qualify for unpaid family leave or not, or your leave could be unprotected.
Reminder: Your employer is obligated to give you information about the federal leave policy. Some forms they may give you can be found here.
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