From the official announcement by State legislatures ↗
According to information from the official Massachusetts state website, the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program is one of the most important worker benefits in the state, applying to most employees, including members of the Vietnamese-American community living and working in Massachusetts.
PFML still applies when you travel abroad to care for a family member — something few people in the community know about.
How does this program work?
Massachusetts' PFML law went into effect on January 1, 2021, allowing eligible workers to receive paid leave for family or health reasons. To qualify for benefits, workers must have earned at least 5,100 USD in the previous 12 months from Massachusetts employers — regardless of tenure or company size, unlike the federal FMLA.
The maximum weekly benefit amount has been adjusted to 1,170.64 USD per week as of 2025, up from 1,149.90 USD the previous year.
How long can you take leave and for what reasons?
The program allows leave for the following situations:
- Up to 20 weeks if you are seriously ill or injured and unable to work.
- Up to 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious illness, or to bond with a newborn, adopted child, or child placed through the foster care system.
- Up to 26 weeks to care for a military family member with a serious health condition.
- The maximum combined leave in one year is 26 weeks.
Notably, this benefit applies even if you travel outside the state or abroad to care for a family member — an important point for many Vietnamese-American families with relatives living far away.
What do small business owners need to know?
Business owners — including many nail salons, restaurants, and small businesses in the Vietnamese community — must contribute to the PFML fund through payroll deductions. Businesses with 25 or more employees must contribute 0.88% of total payroll, including 0.70% for medical leave and 0.18% for family leave. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees contribute only 0.46%.
Employers are also required to notify new employees in writing within 30 days of hire, and post PFML notices at the workplace in English and in languages spoken by five or more employees as their native language.
Additionally, Massachusetts has deployed support services in more than 7 languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Haitian Creole — making the program more accessible to non-English speakers. Vietnamese is not listed in the initial language offerings, but the community can contact the agency directly for assistance.
See the official Massachusetts state notice at the source link below.
Analysis
As of April 2026, 14 states and the District of Columbia have implemented mandatory paid family leave systems — Massachusetts is one of the pioneering states. While the federal FMLA only guarantees unpaid leave for employees at companies with 50 or more workers, Massachusetts extends this benefit to nearly the entire workforce, including some contract workers (1099-MISC) if they make up more than 50% of the employer's workforce.
Little known is the fact that the program has served 275,000 workers and paid out over 2.3 billion since its launch. With many Vietnamese-American families working in service industries or running small businesses, understanding this benefit — and employers' obligations — is practical and carries real financial value.
Diaspora Impact
If you are working in Massachusetts and have never looked into PFML, now is a good time. You do not need to take any registration steps beforehand — the benefit is activated only when there is an actual need (birth of a child, serious illness, caring for a family member).
When you need to use it, you can apply at www.mass.gov/pfml or call 1-833-344-7365. Small business owners should verify they have registered an Employer Account with the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML), and ensure PFML notices have been posted at the workplace — this is a legal requirement.