Maryland is asking for another delay on a program that would give all workers in the state access to paid family and medical leave. This time, the Maryland Labor Department is citing uncertainty and instability with the federal government as the primary motivator in requesting an extension.

The Moore-Miller administration is asking for an additional 18-months to get the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) up and running. The new proposal would have benefits start in 2028, with payroll contributions beginning in 2027. The FAMLI program creates a fund that both employers and employees pay into. Workers could use it to take up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave to handle medical situations for themselves or a family member– such as a newborn infant or long-term illness

Labor Secretary Portia Wu said Maryland is preparing to deal with the immediate needs of potentially hundreds of thousands of government employees dealing with layoffs or contract terminations as a result of the Trump administration’s actions on the federal level.

“We recognize we can't predict what it will take, and it impacts all of our potential operations here in the state,” said Wu.

Wu said the situation is similar to the one the state faced after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse which left hundreds of workers impacted by the Port of Baltimore closure.

“We're seeing something even bigger and more unprecedented now,” said Wu.

But Lisa Klingenmaier, deputy public policy director with Maryland Family Network and manager at the Time to Care Coalition, said life happens despite uncertain times — which she found out personally with a cancer diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Just because we were in a pandemic doesn't mean terrible things aren't still happening, and I needed access to paid leave to be able to take care of myself as I figured out how to navigate life with a new cancer diagnosis,” said Klingenmaier.

She called the delay “heartbreaking”. A poll conducted by strategy firm Opinionworks in 2021 showed that 88 percent of Maryland voters supported paid family and medical leave either “strongly” or “somewhat.”

Senator Antonio Hayes shared similar feelings as Klingenmaier, saying that the uncertainty coming out of Washington stresses “the reason why we need to pay family leave.” Hayes, a Democrat who represents parts of Baltimore City in Annapolis, was an original sponsor of the bill that created the FAMLI program.

But the senator was also unsurprised. He cited recent briefings from the state’s Department of Legislative Services detailing the potential impacts of reduced federal funding to the state.

“They have really cautioned us to… potential shortfalls that we may experience, even more so than other states because of our proximity and our dependency on the federal government,” said Hayes.

The state is already staring down a $3 billion budget shortfall.

Klingenmaier at the Maryland Family Network noted that the delay is especially long, previous delays have been for one year each.

Again, Wu cited uncertainty with the situation coming up from Washington D.C. and an unwillingness to “move the goalposts” and have yet another delay.

“We would like to be able to deliver it as soon as possible,” said Secretary Wu. “But I have to be realistic in the climate we're facing, we need a program that works right. It is not helpful to families to have a promise but not actually have a functioning program.”

The infrastructure for the program had to be completely built from the ground-up. A spokesperson from the Labor Department wrote that in April 2023, the FAMLI Division of MD Labor had just one employee. Now the division has 100 state employees and contractors in roles such as policy development, communications, stakeholder outreach, finance and accounting, and customer service.

Wu said that continuing to build that strong infrastructure is critical and stressed her passion for making sure all workers get paid family-medical leave.

“We know that paid leave provides tremendous benefits…I know the governor is still very invested in this program, that this is a key part of a growth and competitiveness agenda as well.”

The Maryland General Assembly needs to approve the delay.

This story has been updated with Klingenmaier's title. She is a deputy public policy director at Maryland Family Network.