As an employer, it’s your job to accommodate your employees’ basic needs, one of which is personal leave. If you’re a business owner in Florida or have employees who live there, it’s crucial to understand employee rights when it comes to taking a leave of absence.
In this guide, we’ll explain what Florida requires of employers, how federal leave works, and the benefits of offering paid leave in your workplace.
What is paid family and medical leave—and does Florida have it?
Paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs give employees a chunk of time off work to bond with a new child, care for an ill family member, or manage a personal health condition. Most PFML programs give eligible employees anywhere from six weeks to five months off, with weekly benefit payments equal to 50 to 90% of their usual wages.
As of early 2026, 13 states (plus the District of Columbia) have enacted state-mandated PFML programs—but Florida isn’t one of them.
The only state funding Florida provides is paid parental leave for eligible State Personnel System (SPS) employees, a law that went into effect in 2023. Qualified SPS employees can receive seven weeks of paid maternity leave following the birth of a child, and two weeks of paid parental leave (for mothers and fathers) following the birth or adoption of a child.
To be eligible, SPS employees have to:
Have one cumulative year of service in the last seven years
Have 1,250 hours of service logged in the 12 months prior to leave
As far as parental leave programs go, Florida’s is bare bones, covering only a sliver of the state’s population. Along with leaving foster parents out of the equation entirely, the law is also biased toward mothers who give birth over fathers and adoptive mothers.
The lack of state support means most people in Florida don’t have covered leave. In fact, the National Partnership for Women and Families reports that 76% of Floridians don’t have access to paid leave from their employers.
Every year, Floridians lose a collective $2.8 billion in wages due to unpaid or partially paid leave. Families of all kinds suffer as a result, but families of color are disproportionately affected. In Florida, 77% of Black mothers, 52% of Latina mothers, and 45% of AAPI mothers are key family breadwinners.
Florida’s voluntary paid family leave option
Florida has an alternative to state-mandated leave called voluntary paid family leave (PFL), which allows private insurance carriers to sell Florida employers a PFL insurance product. If you purchase PFL insurance through a private insurer, you’ll either charge your employees an insurance premium or split the premium cost with them. Then they’ll receive benefit payments to take parental or caregiving leaves.
Does Florida have short-term disability leave?
Florida doesn’t have a state-run disability program, nor does it require employers to offer one to employees. Employees need disability leave to deal with non-work-related illnesses, injuries, or other medical conditions (think: pregnancy or surgery).
Without disability insurance, Florida employees are left with just a few options if they need time off from work to manage their personal health:
Take unpaid FMLA leave—if they qualify
Rely on their employer’s disability insurance policy—if they have one
Use accrued paid time off (PTO) or sick days
What is the federal employee leave law?
The United States is one of only a handful of countries worldwide that don’t offer federal PFL. Instead, we have a federal law that grants only some people the right to take unpaid leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers with at least 50 employees to give eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for:
Bonding: To care for and bond with a new child (this applies to newly born, adopted, and fostered children)
Caregiving: To care for a family member who has a serious health condition (this applies to spouses, children, and parents)
Personal medical reasons: To manage a serious personal health condition
Military exigency: To manage affairs when a family member is on or called to active duty (this applies to spouses, children, and parents)
One benefit of FMLA leave is that it guarantees job protection, meaning an employee who takes leave must be able to return to their same role or a comparable one when they come back. It also guarantees continued health benefits, so you’re required to provide continued health insurance to employees on FMLA leave.
However, you also have the right as an employer to require employees to use their PTO or sick days during FMLA leave.
FMLA leave eligibility
Any Florida employee who meets the requirements below is eligible to take FMLA leave. They have to:
Work for an employer that has at least 50 employees who work within a 75-mile radius
Need time off from work for bonding, caregiving, personal medical reasons, or military exigency
Have worked for their employer for at least one year (doesn’t need to be consecutive)
Have over 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months immediately before leave begins
Unfortunately, lots of Floridians aren’t eligible for FMLA leave. According to 2025 data from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, small businesses in Florida make up 99.8% of all businesses in the state. And because many small businesses don’t even employ 50 people, FMLA doesn’t apply to their workers.
FMLA leave also doesn’t cover:
Part-time employees
Employees who’ve recently started a new job
Shift/gig workers who juggle two or more jobs at a time
And then there are the people who do qualify, but ultimately choose to forfeit FMLA leave rather than go 12 weeks without pay.
What do employers need to do to comply with FMLA leave?
If you have 50 or more employees who work within 75 miles, FMLA applies to you—and you need to make sure you follow the law. Here are your responsibilities:
1. Notify employees about their rights
Step 1: Post a general notice in your workplace. This general notice from the US Department of Labor (DOL) explains what FMLA leave is, which employees are eligible, and how to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division. Make sure the poster is in English, as well as any other languages your employees speak.
Step 2: Give a written notice to all your FMLA-eligible employees (aka those who’ve worked with you for at least a year and have 1,250 hours of service in their job in the past 12 months), explaining who’s eligible for FMLA leave, how to request a leave, and when to request a leave (with 30 days of notice).
You can print a separate form for employees or include a general FMLA write-up in your employee handbook. If you don’t follow the DOL’s posting and notification requirements, you could be assessed for a civil money penalty.
2. Give employees a Rights and Responsibilities Notice and a Designation Notice
When one of your employees requests a leave of absence, you have five business days to give them a Rights and Responsibilities Notice. This form details:
The 12-month period in which your employee’s leave can take place, along with their expected leave start and return dates
Your employee’s right to job protection
Your employee’s right to substitute PTO for FMLA leave, and whether or not you’ll require that
Your employee’s right to receive continued health insurance, and whether or not they need to continue paying health insurance premiums while on leave
Whether or not your employee needs to provide certification for the leave
Keep in mind that you’re allowed to require certification if an employee requests leave for personal medical reasons, caregiving duties, or military exigency—but not if an employee requests a leave for bonding purposes.
Before leave begins, make sure you give your employee a Designation Notice to let them know that their requested leave qualifies as FMLA leave, and to set their expectations about the benefits and protections they’ll receive.
3. Return employees to the same role
Employees returning from FMLA leave are guaranteed their same role or a comparable one—in pay, benefits, title, work times, and responsibilities. Make sure you maintain an employee’s position during leave and keep it open to them when they’re back.
4. Maintain records
You need to keep all your payroll and personnel records related to leave for at least three years. Hold onto payroll receipts, paystubs, official employee requests for leave, documentation of leave start and end dates, and copies of FMLA notices.
What are other states doing for PFML?
Slowly but surely, more and more states are enacting PFML or PFL programs to give employees the time and financial security they need to navigate major life changes. There are currently 13 states (plus DC) with state-mandated leave programs: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.
But these four stand out for their generosity and inclusiveness:
California gives eligible employees up to eight weeks of PFL, with weekly benefit payments equal to 70-90% of an employee’s usual wages.
New York gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of PFL, with weekly benefit payments equal to 67% of an employee’s usual wages.
Oregon offers eligible employees up to 12 weeks of PFL (with birthing parents getting up to 26 weeks) with weekly payments that cover 89% of an employee’s average weekly wages.
Colorado offers up to 12 weeks of paid Neonatal Care Leave to employees whose children have to spend time in the NICU after birth, on top of the 12 paid weeks they receive for bonding leave.
How do I create a paid employee leave policy for my workforce?
If you don’t have a company leave policy yet, now is a perfect time to create one. The benefits of offering paid leave cannot be overstated: they range from positive public health impacts and widespread economic prosperity to higher on-the-job engagement and employee retention rates.
Start by gathering information and reflecting on your workforce, peers, and business plans:
Employee demographic: How large is your workforce, and what is the age demographic? If you have a lot of employees in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s, you might be anticipating a lot of parental leaves. If you have an older employee demographic, on the other hand, you may see more caregiving or personal medical leaves.
Competition: What are other employers in your field offering for paid family leave? What do similar businesses in different states offer? You want to make sure you’re in line with industry standards at a minimum.
Goals: What are your hiring and growth goals? Offering paid leave can help reduce employee turnover and attract better talent.
Once you have a better idea of your employees’ needs, you have two options: purchase PFL insurance from a private carrier in Florida or pay for leave out of your own pocket. Whatever choice you make, aim to offer a minimum of 12 weeks of leave. For inspiration and cost estimates, take a look at the Florida Policy Institute’s four PFL models.
Investing in paid family leave
Florida doesn’t have a state-mandated leave program, but you can still support Florida employees by incorporating paid leave into your employee benefits package. Investing in your employees’ well-being always pays off.
For more state-specific resources, check out our Florida guides to small business taxes, hiring, and tax incentives.
