Webinar

Oct 12, 2021

Webinar Recording: Guidance on State and Local Paid Family Leave Laws - Part IV

Part IV: Spotlighting Federal, Connecticut, Washington D.C.,  Oregon, and New Hampshire Paid Family Leave Developments 

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Part IV: Spotlighting Federal, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Oregon, and New Hampshire Paid Family Leave Developments 

As proposed federal paid family leave (“PFL”) legislation bounces around Capitol Hill, 2020 and 2021 saw PFL developments in a number of jurisdictions. These include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Washington, D.C. The most recent of these developments include: (a) New Hampshire enacted a voluntary paid family and medical leave (“PFML”) program (June 2021); (b) the full set of Massachusetts PFML covered absences went live (July 2021); (c) Rhode Island amended its PFL law to expand the number of weeks benefits are available to eligible workers (July 2021); and (d) Washington, D.C. amended its PFML program to, among other changes, expand the scope and amount of covered benefits available to eligible workers (August 2021).

Part IV of the Seyfarth Paid Family Leave Series examines the most recent PFL and PFML developments at the federal and state levels, including updates on the PFML programs in Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Oregon, New Hampshire, Washington, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The Federal developments focus on the status of the PFML proposal formerly known as the Building an Economy for Families Act (BEFA), which is now the Universal Paid Family and Medical Leave section in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), and the sunsetting of FFCRA tax credits for covered employers. 

Specific topics include: 

  • Overview of the current state and local PFL landscape.
  • Discussion of the Federal BBBA PFML proposal, including substantive highlights, open questions, and updates since the proposal was converted from BEFA and released in the House Ways and Means Committee’s Budget Reconciliation text. 
  • PFML program updates and overviews for Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Oregon, New Hampshire, Washington, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. These updates include insights into the Connecticut PFML program that becomes available to employees in January 2022 and amendments to the Washington, D.C. PFML program that went into effect on October 1, 2021.
  • Discussion on coordination of benefits considerations when administering employer-provided benefits with state PFL and unpaid family leave mandates, and the federal FMLA.

To continue to assist employers navigate the constantly evolving patchwork of PFL laws, Seyfarth offers subscribing clients a unique and valuable resource – the Firm’s Premium PFL Laws Survey. The Seyfarth Premium PFL Survey is available to subscribing clients and contains comprehensive summaries of all existing state and local PFL and PFML laws and ordinances, broken into more than 30 substantive topics. Please email paidleave@seyfarth.com if you’re interested in learning more about this resource.

Speakers

Stan Hill, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Joshua D. Seidman, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Christine M. Costantino, Associate, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Christina Duszlak, Associate, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Megan P. Toth, Associate, Seyfarth Shaw LLP


Prior and Future Installments of the PFL Webinar Series

Part 1 of our PFL webinar series involved an informative and detailed look at recent and upcoming PFL developments in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Washington and Washington, D.C. Part 2 of our PFL webinar series examined the PFL laws in California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Oregon. Part 3 of our PFL webinar series examined prospects for federal paid leave under the Biden Administration.

Future Parts of the Seyfarth Paid Family Leave Webinar Series will continue to track federal paid family leave legislation, and corresponding developments and activity at the state and local levels. Please be on the lookout for additional details as they become available. 


This webinar is accredited for CLE in CA, IL, NJ, and NY. Credit will be applied for as requested for TX, GA, WA, NC, FL and VA. The following jurisdictions accept reciprocal credit with these accredited states, and individuals can use the certificate they receive to gain CLE credit therein: AZ, CT, NH. The following jurisdictions do not require CLE, but attendees will receive general certificates of attendance: DC, MA, MD, MI, SD. For all other jurisdictions, a general certificate of attendance and the necessary materials will be issued that can be used in other jurisdictions for self-application. To request CLE credit, fill out the recorded attendance form linked above and return it to CLE@seyfarth.com. If you have questions about jurisdictions, please email CLE@seyfarth.com. CLE credit for this recording expires on October 11, 2022.