Federal law already protects the jobs of people who are having a child, taking care of an ill parent or themselves after a catastrophic injury. But they don’t get paid. Now, Maryland lawmakers are pushing a bill to create an insurance fund that would pay someone taking family and medical leave a portion of their salary.

There's new support to pass House Bill 8, known as the Time to Care Act of 2022, which would give workers up to 12 weeks paid time off to take care of a newborn, themselves or a loved one who has serious medical conditions.

Advocates and lawmakers voiced their support Thursday for the “Time to Care Act,” which establishes paid family and medical leave for Maryland workers.

During the 2022 legislative session, beginning today, lawmakers will be focused on measures including legalizing recreational marijuana, paid family and medical leave, and how to allocate the state’s budget surplus.

Maryland’s state lawmakers returned Wednesday to Annapolis for their annual legislative session, with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to weigh on their minds and alter their procedures.

The United States is the only high-income country without national paid leave, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Under a 1993 law, workers are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid family and medical leave. But half of Marylanders do not qualify because the federal law requires employees to have worked for at least a year and exempts organizations with fewer than 50 employees. Only 23% of Americans have access to paid family leave, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers will be gathering for their annual 90-day legislative session this week with an enormous budget surplus, while legalizing recreational marijuana, battling COVID-19 and measures to address climate change will be among the major issues before them in an election year.

A number of issues will be front and center as legislators head back to Annapolis, chief among them drawing new boundaries for state electoral offices. COVID will, of course, loom large logistically and legislatively. Federal funds from the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure bill have the state operating with a $6 billion dollar surplus at the moment, which will be a tempting target for lawmakers.

From a policy perspective, 2022 is shaping up to be the “three C’s” session — with cannabis, climate and choice topping the legislative agenda. COVID is the fourth C, which will loom over everything the legislature does this year. “Care” could be the fifth — with how to boost child care providers and whether to provide paid leave insurance for people caring for sick loved ones also on the agenda.

Advocates see 2022 as their best chance yet to pass a comprehensive paid-leave program like the ones in D.C. and nine other states, as an election year that coincides with the pandemic has focused attention on caring for sick family members. State lawmakers also cleared other big-ticketed pieces of their agenda, passing a sweeping education policy in 2020 and police accountability measures in 2021.

The Maryland General Assembly returns to Annapolis for their annual 90-day session.

Seth Morgan, a retired physician who lives in Chevy Chase and has multiple sclerosis, is among the vocal AARP Maryland volunteer advocates urging state lawmakers to pass paid family leave legislation.

Democratic-run states have increasingly adopted paid family leave laws and more are poised to guarantee the benefit for workers if, as expected, it isn’t included in President Biden’s massive social welfare bill.

Regular General Assembly sessions — except when they are interrupted by the plague — have a certain common rhythm to them. But special sessions are a different matter. They don’t call them special for nothing.

Activists from across the state are at the capital in Annapolis this week hoping to expand the paid leave law. One plan would require employers to provide up to 12 days instead of the current five. Another plan would give employees the option of up to 12 weeks, funded on a 50-50 employer-employee match.

One of the great joys in life is spending time with family. However, taking care of a baby or sick parent or sibling can seriously disrupt your life. The trauma of caring for a dying family member can stay with you forever.

One of the great joys in life is spending time with family. However, taking care of a baby or sick parent or sibling can seriously disrupt your life. The trauma of caring for a dying family member can stay with you forever.

One of the great joys in life is spending time with family. However, taking care of a baby or sick parent or sibling can seriously disrupt your life. The trauma of caring for a dying family member can stay with you forever.

One of the great joys in life is spending time with family. However, taking care of a baby or sick parent or sibling can seriously disrupt your life. The trauma of caring for a dying family member can stay with you forever.

The pandemic undoubtedly wreaked some form of havoc on just about everyone’s life. But statistics are piling up showing that it has hurt women more, particularly those who are African American and Latinx, eroding many of the gains in the workforce that had been made in recent years. Around 2.5 million women dropped out of the labor force or lost their jobs during the pandemic, compared to 1.8 million men, according to Labor Department data released earlier this month. The situation is so dire that Vice President Kamala Harris called it a “mass exodus” and “national emergency” in a recent op-ed in The Washington Post…