Methodology: PFML Benefits Estimator

What this calculator gives you

This calculator estimates state paid family and medical leave (PFML) wage-replacement benefits for the thirteen jurisdictions paying benefits in 2026. You pick the employee’s work state, leave type, average weekly wage (or annual salary), and weeks requested. The result shows an estimated weekly benefit, weeks payable after the program’s duration cap, and an estimated total.

It is a planning estimate — not legal advice and not an official agency calculator. Actual claim amounts depend on base-period earnings, eligibility, intermittent leave, and agency rules.

How the estimate works

1. Convert annual salary to weekly wage when needed (annual ÷ 52).
2. Apply the jurisdiction’s wage-replacement formula (flat percent or progressive SAWW bands).
3. Cap the weekly amount at the 2026 program maximum.
4. Cap weeks at the program maximum for that leave type.
5. Total ≈ weekly benefit × weeks payable.

Federal FMLA is unpaid. When a leave qualifies under both FMLA and state PFML, employers should designate FMLA so the 12-week FMLA clock runs with the PFML-paid weeks (DOL Opinion Letter FMLA2025-01-A).

Jurisdictions modeled (2026)

Jurisdiction	Program	Medical weeks	Family / bonding weeks	2026 weekly max	Who pays contributions
California	SDI / PFL	52 (SDI)	8 (PFL)	$1,765	Employee
New York	PFL	— (use DBL, not modeled)	12	$1,228.53	Employee
New Jersey	TDI / FLI	26	12	$1,119	Employee (TDI + FLI)
Rhode Island	TDI / TCI	30	7	$1,103	Employee
Washington	PFML	12	12	$1,647	Both
Massachusetts	PFML	20	12	$1,230.39	Both (size-based)
Connecticut	CT Paid Leave	12	12	$1,016.40	Employee
Oregon	Paid Leave Oregon	12	12	$1,636.56	Both
Colorado	FAMLI	12	12	$1,381	Both
District of Columbia	DC PFL	12	12	$1,190	Employer only
Delaware	Healthy DE Families	6	12 parental / 6 care	$900	Both
Minnesota	PFML	12	12	$1,423	Both
Maine	PFML	12	12	$1,198.84	Both (size-based)

Maryland and Virginia have enacted programs that are not yet paying benefits and are omitted from the dropdown.

Replacement formulas

Flat percent

• New York: 67% of average weekly wage, max $1,228.53 (67% of NYSAWW $1,833.63).
• New Jersey: 85% of average weekly wage, max $1,119.
• Delaware: 80% of average weekly wage, rounded up to the nearest even dollar, max $900.

Progressive / tiered

• California: 90% of wages for lower earners (at or below ~70% of SAWW); 70% above that band; max $1,765. The calculator’s low-earnings weekly threshold is an approximation of EDD’s base-period test.
• Washington, Colorado, Maine: higher % of wages up to ~50% of SAWW, lower % above; subject to the weekly max.
• Massachusetts: 80% up to 50% of SAWW, then 50%; max $1,230.39.
• Oregon: 100% of wages up to 65% of SAWW; then 65% of SAWW + 50% of wages above; ceiling 120% of SAWW ($1,636.56).
• Minnesota: 90% / 66% / 55% tiers by SAWW bands; max equals SAWW ($1,423).
• Connecticut: 95% of wages up to 40× CT minimum wage ($16.94); 60% above; max 60× min wage ($1,016.40).
• District of Columbia: 90% of wages up to a low-earnings band, then 50%; max $1,190. The low band is approximated from 1.5× DC minimum wage.
• Rhode Island: ~4.62% of high-quarter wages. The calculator approximates high-quarter as weekly wage × 13 under steady earnings.

Where SAWW is reverse-derived from the published weekly maximum, the result card marks the estimate as an approximation.

Worked examples

California — family bonding, $1,200/week, 8 weeks

Average weekly wage $1,200 sits above the calculator’s approximate low-earnings threshold, so replacement is 70%:

Piece	Amount
Weekly benefit (70% × $1,200)	$840
Weeks (PFL max 8)	8
Estimated total	$6,720

A lower earner at $1,000/week would use the 90% band → $900/week × 6 weeks = $5,400 for a six-week claim.

Washington — family leave, $1,500/week, 12 weeks

Using the progressive 90% / 50% formula (SAWW reverse-derived so the weekly max is $1,647):

Piece	Amount
Low band (50% of SAWW ≈ $915) at 90%	$823.50
Remainder ($1,500 − $915) at 50%	$292.50
Weekly benefit	$1,116
Weeks	12
Estimated total	$13,392

New York — family bonding, $1,500/week, 12 weeks

Piece	Amount
Weekly benefit (67% × $1,500)	$1,005
Weeks	12
Estimated total	$12,060

A $3,000 weekly wage would compute 67% = $2,010, then cap at $1,228.53 → about $14,742 for 12 weeks.

FMLA concurrency

State PFML pays partial wages. Federal FMLA protects the job for eligible employees at covered employers but does not pay wages. When both apply:

• Designate FMLA within five business days of learning the qualifying reason (29 CFR § 825.300).
• Run FMLA concurrent with PFML-paid weeks (DOL Opinion Letter FMLA2025-01-A).
• Do not assume PFML alone “uses up” FMLA if you never designated FMLA.

What is not modeled

• Eligibility screens — hours worked, earnings thresholds, waiting periods, and private-plan substitution.
• Exact base-period math — agencies often use highest quarters or specific claim-year windows, not a single typed weekly wage.
• Intermittent leave — day-by-day or hour-by-hour drawing of the bank.
• Pregnancy / NICU / prenatal add-on weeks — noted in duration text; not auto-stacked.
• Combined multi-type caps when an employee takes both medical and family leave in the same benefit year (for example WA 16 weeks combined, MA 26, MN 20, ME 12).
• New York DBL for own medical leave.
• Dependent allowances (Rhode Island can raise the max with dependents).
• Maryland and Virginia (not yet paying).
• Tax treatment of benefits and contributions (see IRS Rev. Rul. 2025-4).
• Employer contribution cost — contribution rates are shown as informational notes only.

Data sources

• Companion research: Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws by State — jurisdiction table, 2026 maxima, contribution splits, FMLA coordination.
• 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601–2654 (FMLA)
• DOL Opinion Letter FMLA2025-01-A
• California EDD — Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts
• New York Paid Family Leave 2026
• Washington Paid Leave updates
• Massachusetts PFML overview
• New Jersey myLeaveBenefits
• Oregon Paid Leave
• Colorado FAMLI benefits calculator
• DC Paid Family Leave
• Delaware Paid Leave
• Minnesota Paid Leave
• Maine Paid Leave
• Connecticut Paid Leave Authority
• Rhode Island DLT rates