The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) continues to see an increase in the number of claims, according to the agency’s annual report for Fiscal Year 2024.

In FY 2024, 211,885 claims were submitted, up from 171,219 in FY 2023. Of these, 179,562 applications were approved, and 32,323 were denied. The denials constituted 15.25 % of all claims filed with the agency, down from a denial rate of 16.27 % in FY 2023. The annual report captures trends only for employers covered by the DFML. Employers covered by private insurers may have different experiences.

Types of Leaves Requested

As in FY 2023, the most common type of leave was for employees’ own serious health conditions, making up 64% of total claims. Family leave to bond with a new child (following birth, adoption, or foster placement) was the second most requested leave, at over 24%, while nearly 12% of claims were for time off to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

Application Denials

Of the 15.25% of benefit applications denied, most were denied because the applicant could not show eligibility. For example, the employee was covered by a private plan, had insufficient earnings, failed to meet the financial eligibility test, or applied after more than 26 weeks of unemployment.

Another significant cause of denial was the applicants’ failure to provide the necessary documentation. This was broken down into two categories: the employee did not submit required documents, or the documents submitted did not comply with DFML requirements. These reasons accounted for 85% of all denials. Other factors included applications where employees had exhausted their leave or submitted applications late.

Application Demographics

Consistent with last year’s report, the largest age group for approved benefits was 31-40 years, with approximately 43,210 approved applications. The category 21 to 30 years of age followed with 20,644 approvals, while employees aged 41 to 50 and 51 to 60 each had approximately 19,000 approved applicants each.

Women made up more than 61% of approved applicants, while men accounted for more than 36%. Since gender disclosure is optional, about 3% of applicants identified as unknown, prefer not to answer, or non-binary.

In 2023, the DFML expanded language access to its application process.  In FY 2024, 3.82% of applicants took advantage of this option, and applied and received notices in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, or Chinese.

Processing Times Improve

Employer response times have improved, with a median response time of 2.61 days, down from three days in FY 2023. The median initial determination by the DFML is made within 13 days, a four-day reduction from FY 2023.  Final determinations are completed in a median of 18 days, reducing processing time by nine days. Even as the number of applications to the DFML continues to increase, response time from processing applications has decreased.

Review the DFML FY 2024 Annual Report to explore all the trends and data.

Additional Resources

AIM members with questions about Paid Family and Medical Leave or other HR topics can reach the AIM Helpline at 1-800-470-6277 or email us at helpline@AIMnet.org.

Need more help than the Helpline can offer? AIM HR Solutions supports members in aligning their leave policies, ensuring they’re up-to-date and compliant. Our team can review your employee handbook for leave policy compliance, help harmonize leave across various programs, and offer expert guidance on implementing effective and compliant leave practices.
For personalized support, contact us.