U.S. State Updates
California
The taxable wage ceiling and the maximum weekly benefit for State Disability Insurance (SDI) are still pending. Note, the Employment Development Department’s Tax Branch did release the taxable wage ceiling that we reported here, however, the Voluntary Plan Group has advised that the 2023 State Average Weekly Wage information is required in order to determine the taxable wage ceiling and the maximum benefit amount for 2023. We have reached out to the EDD for an update, and they are awaiting the Department of Industrial Relations’ official release of the information before confirming the taxable wage ceiling and maximum weekly benefit for 2023. We’ll keep you posted.
We would like to remind you of a law that was passed a couple of years ago that will go into effect on January 1, 2023. AB 890 was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 29, 2020.
Starting in the new year, nurse practitioners will be able to practice independently without physician oversight, which means they will be able to certify disability after performing a physical examination. Currently, nurse practitioners may only certify disability after they have collaborated with a physician or surgeon.
Colorado
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has released the 2023 FAMLI Employee Handbook, which provides a high level overview of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program.
The soft launch of My FAMLI+ Employer continues and you can still request early access here. My FAMLI+ Employer will allow employers to report wage data, remit premium payments, and apply for exemption with a private plan. The portal will be available to all employers starting in January 2023 and the registration process can be completed any time before the first premium payments and wage reports are due on April 30, 2023.
More webinars are on the way:
- November 30th: Pre-Recorded Webinar on Coordination of Benefits
- Week of December 5th: Registering Your Business with Live Open Forum
- Week of December 12th: Pre-Recorded Webinar on Registering Your Business
- Week of December 19th: Registering Your Business with Live Open Forum
You can access previous webinars here and if you have questions you can submit them here in advance of the next webinar.
Connecticut
In case you were wondering if the contribution rate for the Connecticut Paid Leave program is changing for 2023, we have confirmed with the CT Paid Leave Authority that the rate will remain at one-half of one percent for 2023. As a reminder, contributions are capped at the social security wage base ($160,200 for 2023).
Illinois
We wanted to remind you that the Family Bereavement Act (signed into law over the summer) goes into effect on January 1, 2023. The law requires employers who are subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide up to 2 weeks (10 work days) of unpaid leave to eligible employees (same requirements as FMLA). Of note, the law does not create a right for an employee to take unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is in addition to, the unpaid leave time permitted under the FMLA.
For more details, please see our June 17, 2022 newsletter.
New Hampshire
MetLife is the outsourced insurance carrier for the optional New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave (NH PFML) program that goes live effective January 1, 2023 – see here for more details.
MetLife recently provided an important clarification that the NH PFML program is only applicable to employers and employees with a physical location in New Hampshire. This would mean that an employer who has remote employees in New Hampshire, but does not have a physical presence in the state, would not be covered under the program. Further, employees would not be able to enroll in the program as individuals, either, unless their employer has a physical presence in New Hampshire.
However, if you do have a physical presence in New Hampshire and if your company does enroll in the NH PFML program, now or in the future, please let your Larkin Account Manager know as soon as possible, so we can administer leaves for your New Hampshire employees accordingly. Or, if you have individual employees who opt into the program, please also inform your Larkin Account Manager.
New Jersey
We have some good news for your employees in New Jersey. There will be no Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) employee contributions for 2023. As far as Family Leave Insurance (FLI), employees will contribute 0.06% of the first $156,800 in covered wages with a maximum contribution of $94.08.
New York
The Workers’ Compensation Board has released an updated Disability Benefits Statement of Rights (DB-271S). As a reminder, the document must be provided to an employee who has been absent from work for more than 7 consecutive days. The form must be provided within 5 business days thereafter; or within 5 days after the employer knows or should know that absence is due to disability, whichever is greater. For our LOA clients, we provide the form in the leave packets we provide to your employees.
Oregon
Since January 1st is around the corner, we wanted to provide another reminder regarding contributions for the Paid Leave Oregon program. As noted in the Employer Guidebook:
All Oregon employers are required to complete a combined employer’s registration process through the Secretary of State or Oregon Employment Department. Registration for Paid Leave Oregon will be included in the process automatically. If you have already registered and have an active Business Identification Number (BIN), you are already included in Paid Leave Oregon and will be able to start reporting wages and paying contributions when the program starts.
The link to the registration website (Frances Online) can be found here. See “Sign Up for Employer Access”.
Washington
The Employment Security Department (ESD) has released the 2023 maximum weekly benefit amount for the Paid Family and Medical Leave program. The amount is increasing from $1,327 to $1,427 per week. The required poster for 2023 is yet to be released – we will keep a lookout for it and will share once it’s available.
