U.S. Updates
San Francisco, California
Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (PPLO)
For our San Francisco clients, the OLSE has confirmed that the PPLO wage cap for 2026 will be $2,522 per week. As a quick reminder about the SF ordinance, employers are required to supplement an eligible employee’s PFL parental leave benefits up to 100% of an employee’s weekly salary, or a weekly maximum amount that is determined each year by the City, whichever amount is lower. Most Larkin clients provide salary continuation up to full pay, even if the employee’s salary is above the weekly SF PPLO cap.
Colorado
Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment revised their regulations on how the CO FAMLI program benefits coordinate with other types of employer provided leave effective January 1, 2026. The amended rules allow an employer the option to require an employee to exhaust any available FAMLI benefits before accessing short term disability (STD) benefits, long term disability (LTD) benefits, or any other separate bank of leave for family and medical leave purposes. However, employers may not require an employee to exhaust available FAMLI leave or to begin FAMLI leave as a condition to access other leave that it is required to provide such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and Colorado’s state paid sick leave.
In addition, employers and employees may mutually agree that employees may use STD benefits, LTD benefits, or other separate bank of time to supplement their benefits received under the FAMLI program. The amount received between all benefit types may still not exceed the individual’s average weekly earnings. The rules further clarify that employers may not require employees to apply for or exhaust these employer provided benefits as a condition to accessing FAMLI benefits under a state or approved private plan.
Lastly, when there is a change to an employer’s FAMLI plan or private plan, the previous plan is responsible for paying all leave with a benefit start date prior to the date the employer changed plans, through the duration previously approved or until recertification is required. The previous plan must also adjudicate and pay any approved claims submitted retroactively within the application and filing timeline, but not for claims that began after the date the plan changes were made.
Be sure to review and update any policies in relation to these updates.
Delaware
Another amendment to DE PFML’s program was released, right before the program was expected to go live in the new year. The updated regulations are effective as of December 11, 2025 and are outlined below:
- The definition of an “application year” has been amended to be defined as the 12-month period measured forward from the first date of an employee’s PFML leave for all employers, including those who are self-insured. Previously, the definition mirrored the measuring period allowed under the federal FMLA. This means employers who do not use the measured forward method of tracking FMLA leave will not be in alignment with the PFML, though the two may still run concurrently where applicable. Employers are not required to change their FMLA calculation method, but should be aware that an employee’s FMLA and DE PFML entitlements may be measured differently if the calculation methods are not the same.
- The definition of an “employee” has been amended to cover employees who earn wages in Delaware, rather than where an employee physically worked. Now, employees are considered primarily working in Delaware if they earn at least 60% of their wages in Delaware.
- Employers with 10-24 employees have obligations to provide parental leave only, but may voluntarily provide additional coverage for medical, family care, and qualifying exigency leaves. If an employer elects to provide additional coverage, they are prohibited from requiring employees to make contribution payments toward those voluntarily provided benefits. Employers would need to assume the full cost of the additional leave coverage, unless they have written agreement with the affected employees to share the cost.
As a reminder, the program went live on January 1, 2026.
Hawaii
The Aloha State has released changes to its Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program for 2026:
- The maximum weekly benefit increased from $837 to $871
- The weekly taxable wage ceiling increased from $1,441.72 to $1,500.21
- Employee cost for premiums are 0.5% of the first $1,500.21 of employee’s weekly wages
- The weekly cap for employee contribution increased from $7.21 to $7.50
If you haven’t already, ensure you’ve adjusted your contributions in line with the updates, and check that you as a company are offsetting any salary continuation or top-up pay where applicable, as of January 1, 2026. If Larkin handles your leave administration, we perform these services for you.
New Jersey
Recently passed Bill A3451 will amend the Family Leave Act (FLA), as well as the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI) laws, effective July 17, 2026.
- FLA Covered Employee Eligibility: Currently, employees are eligible for FLA once they have at least 12 months of employment and 1,000 hours worked in the 12-month period preceding the leave with their current employer. Effective July 17, 2026, this will be reduced to just 3 months of employment, with only 250 hours worked.
- FLA Covered Employer Eligibility: Compared to the current 30 employees, employers will only need 15 employees for each working day during 20 or more calendar workweeks within the current or immediately preceding calendar year. Come July 17, 2027, this count will reduce again to just 10 employees, and once again on July 17, 2028, the employee count will drop to just 5 employees.
- TDI/FLI Job Protection: Covered employees taking TDI/FLI will be entitled to job restoration upon expiration of their leave, whether it is the position held when the leave commenced, or to an equivalent position of like seniority, status, employment benefits, pay, and other terms or conditions of employment.
- TDI/FLI and Sick Time Usage: Covered employees who are eligible for both TDI/FLI benefits and earned sick leave will have the option to utilize either, and may select the order in which they are taken. However, employees cannot receive them simultaneously.
At this time, it is unknown whether the Department will update the existing FLA and TDI/FLI posters and notices to reflect these updates, or when. We are watching for updates and will let you know as soon as further information is available. In the meantime, employers should be prepared for updates to their handbooks and policies to align with the updates by their effective date.
Puerto Rico
On January 27, 2026, a state of emergency was declared in Puerto Rico due to an influenza virus epidemic. This declaration activates Puerto Rico’s Law 37-2020, which provides private-sector employees – who have contracted or are suspected of contracting the disease or illness – with emergency paid leave for up to 5 business days once they have exhausted all other leaves they may be entitled to, such as accrued sick leave or vacation. We will keep you informed on when the emergency passes and the emergency paid sick leave entitlement ends.
Rhode Island
The Department of Labor and Training has released a press release with the 2026 contribution rate and taxable wage ceiling for the TDI and TCI programs. The contribution rate has decreased to 1.1% from 1.3% and the taxable wage ceiling has increased from $89,200 to $100,000. Maximum annual employee contributions for the program have decreased to $1,100 from $1,159.60.
Washington
The Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program’s 2026 mandatory poster and optional paystub insert is available, and further resources like the Employer’s Paid Leave Benefits Toolkit and the Employer Wage Reporting and Premiums Toolkit have been updated. All of these resources can be accessed at the same link.
Canada Updates
British Columbia
Another bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly: Bill 30, Employment Standards (Serious Illness or Injury Leave) Amendment Act, 2025. The law went into effect immediately as of November 27, 2025 and provides employees with a serious illness or injury with up to 27 weeks of unpaid leave per 52 week period, regardless of how long they have been employed. As proof of entitlement to the leave, employees must provide a certificate from a health practitioner as soon as practicable, and it must state that the employee is unable to work due to medical reasons; the date which the employee’s inability to work began or will begin; and the date the employee is expected to return to work.
This leave type may be used intermittently, in one-week or longer increments. For instance, an employer may count an 8-day leave as 2 full weeks of leave, as a week is defined as any consecutive 7-day period. Employers should be sure to take any necessary steps to update their policies and training as necessary in response to this update.
Ontario
Bill 30, Working for Workers Seven Act, 2025 has received royal assent as of November 27, 2025 and established a new leave of absence under the ESA effective as of the same date. Employees who have received a notice of mass termination (when an employer terminates 50 or more employees at its establishment within a 4-week period), can be entitled to 3 days of unpaid leave in order to engage in activities related to finding employment. Employees will need to notify their employer at least 3 days prior to beginning this leave, and employers can require the employee to provide reasonable evidence to ensure the leave is being used for its intended purpose, e.g., an invitation to an interview or a receipt from a training session. Employees will not be entitled to this leave if they are terminated with notice that is 25% or less of the required notice period, and if they receive termination pay in lieu of the remaining required notice. As a final note, employers will be required to retain all documents related to an employee’s use of this leave for 3 years after the day the leave has expired.
Québec
The Quebec maximum insurable earnings (MIE) benefit rates and premium rates for 2026 were both released. The premium rates for QPIP in 2026 have decreased compared to 2025. Specifically, the premium rate for 2026 is 0.430% for salaried workers and 0.602% for employers. Additionally, the Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) have increased from $98,000 to $103,000 This means that the 2026 maximum premium is $442.90 for salaried workers and $620.06 for employers.
Further, because of the maximum insurable earnings increase, the maximum weekly QPIP benefit amount increased. The maximum weekly benefit for the Basic Plan is $1,386 and the Special Plan is $1,485. Also, during weeks 8-32 of the basic plan for shareable parental benefits, the maximum weekly benefit amount is $1,089 (see the second column and third row of the Pregnancy and Birth benefit table).
