Frequently Asked Questions
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Find answers to common questions here.
FAQs
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The opt-in period for choosing a private plan is every year between October 1 and December 1 to begin using the private plan the following January.
Please contact your American Fidelity account manager to sign up for the American Fidelity PFMLI private plan. Once you complete the required paperwork and receive a copy of your plan document from American Fidelity, you will still have to apply with the state to use this private plan through your Delaware LaborFirst account.
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To ensure all employees understand the new plan and its requirements, it is necessary to provide a written notice. This notice must be provided to all employees localized in Delaware no later than 30 days prior to the start of contributions. The notice must also be provided to employees at the time of hire, when they request leave, and when an employee's request is approved. Written notice is required but may be provided electronically to an employee's work email address provided by the employer, or at a personal email address provided by the employee.
Employers are required to maintain a notice poster in a conspicuous place accessible to employees.
The written notice must be provided in English, Spanish, and any language that is the first language spoken by at least 5% of the employer's workforce.
If you use the American Fidelity private PFMLI plan, you can post and provide the American Fidelity notice to your employees. If you use the state plan, you can post and provide the state’s notice to your employees. Links for each notice can be downloaded here:
- Download and share the state’s notice at labor.delaware.gov/delaware-paid-leave-is-coming
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To process PFMLI claims, you must upload an updated census file through your online account. This will help ensure accuracy when calculating premiums for the PFMLI plan.
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- Log in to your online account.
- Select Leave Management.
- Click the Upload Leave Census File button.
- Select the Location.
- Browse for your census file.
- Click Upload File.
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American Fidelity requires wage information to calculate the correct benefit amount during the claims process. Many employers also choose to provide historical wage data during onboarding so they do not have to verify wage data at the time of claim for each employee. Additionally, we need to know who is covered so we don’t pay benefits to ineligible individuals.
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When you go through onboarding, you will work with your leave liaison to determine the frequency for submitting your census file, which includes your employees’ payroll data. Depending on the services you select, you may be able to submit your census file either monthly or quarterly. Many employers also choose to submit a census file with each pay period if employees are paid more than once per month. You will also decide whether you want to provide 12 months of historical payroll data during onboarding or if you prefer to verify payroll data at the time of claim for each employee.
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American Fidelity does not charge additional fees to administer PFMLI claims under your approved equivalent plan. However, the state sets the current total premium contribution rate, and if that changes in the future, our rate may also vary accordingly. Payments may be subject to other tax obligations. We encourage you to work with your tax advisor.
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Employers must pay at least 50% of the total premium contribution rate—currently 0.8%. Employers may choose to pay more than 50%. The employer must deduct any remaining portion through employee payroll deduction.
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The state requires the first benefit payment to be paid within 30 days after approving a claim; however, employees will typically receive their first weekly benefit payment within two weeks of us receiving all supporting documentation and information. American Fidelity can only process PFMLI claims once the claimant employee submits all applicable information and verification to support their claim. Employees who fail to submit documents and information in a timely manner may delay processing times for their claims.
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- Log in to your online account.
- Select Leave Management.
- Scroll down and select the Absences tab.
- Use the Processing Status column to organize open claims by Pending or Approved.
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The designated contact will receive an email notification when an employee files a new claim. You can also view claims in your online account.
- Log in to your online account.
- From the home dashboard, select the Leave Management tab on the left side.
- Then, click the Absences to Review tab. Here, you can view all new submissions.
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- Log in to your online account.
- From the home dashboard, select Leave Management and click the Reports tab.
- Once in the Reports section, you will select the type of report you'd like to create and input start and end dates.
- Then, click Download Report.
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- Log in to your online account.
- Select Leave Management from the left side of the home dashboard.
- Then, select the employee’s PFMLI claim from the Absences tab.
- Click the Report Return to Work button and continue the on-screen prompts.
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- Log in to your online account.
- Select Leave Management from the left side of the home dashboard.
- Then, select the employee’s PFMLI claim from the Absences tab.
- Now, click the Upload Documents button and continue the on-screen prompts.
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The information you include in the census file is the primary information you will need to provide. There are required fields and optional fields in the census template. When you sign up for PFMLI, you must also sign and agree to follow the guidelines in the Data Usage and Reporting Agreement. This agreement outlines specific data requirements that must be met, including requests for demographic/census data, historical earnings, and return-to-work information. It also outlines the ways in which we will use the data you provide to us.
Note: When your employees request PFMLI or an extension on a current leave, you may need to provide additional information or verification for their request.
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Withholdings start with every pay period covering days worked on or after the effective date of your PFMLI plan and continue for as long as you participate in PFMLI.
For Delaware approved private plans, including American Fidelity's PFMLI plan, this means withholdings begin January 1, 2026, for wages earned for work performed on and after that date.
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Your private insurance plan must be renewed with the state on a yearly basis between October 1 and December 1.
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Applying to use the American Fidelity PFMLI private plan is a two-step process.
First, you will sign up to use the American Fidelity PFMLI private plan by contacting your American Fidelity account manager and completing all required paperwork.
Next, you will submit your application to the state along with a copy of your Delaware Paid Leave private plan document in your Delaware LaborFirst employer account.
To avoid the necessity of withholding contributions for the benefit year beginning January 1, 2026, both of these steps must be completed no later than December 15, 2024. To ensure adequate time to complete this process, you should aim to request your private plan from American Fidelity no later than one week prior to December 15.
For subsequent benefit years, both steps must be completed between October 1 and December 1 for private PFMLI coverage beginning the following January.
Your account manager will be able to help you and answer your questions throughout this process.
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Your PFMLI plan does not have any effect on how you handle employees’ day-to-day absences. You will continue to manage all other types of absences, including sick leave, vacation leave, and other paid or unpaid time off as you usually do, whether that is in a human resource information system (HRIS) or some other method.
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There is a cap on the amount of premiums paid per employee each year. Contributions are based on a percentage of an employee's earnings. Once an employee's annual earnings reach the Social Security wage base, contributions are no longer owed on that employee's wages for the remainder of the year. Because the cap on contributions is tied to the Social Security wage base, the cap can change from year to year based on adjustments made to the Social Security wage base.
Note: The salary limit amount is updated each year to reflect changes in inflation and cost of living. These limits do not impact how much an employee is paid – only how the money is reported. These employees still receive coverage under your plan.
If you have questions, please contact your leave liaison.
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You can log in to your online account and use your portal inbox to reach out to a specific department or call 800-662-1113 for support.
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You will receive an email notification at the email address you provided at onboarding when an employee files a PFMLI claim.
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If an employee knows they will need to use paid leave, they must give you at least 30 days’ notice. In emergency situations, or when providing 30 days’ notice is not possible, employees must notify employers that they plan to use paid leave as soon as possible and practicable under the circumstances. Generally speaking, it will usually be considered practicable for an employee to provide notice to an employer either the same day they learn they have a need for leave or the following business day. In all cases, however, the specific facts and circumstances will govern what is considered practicable.
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The maximum allowed paid leave is 12 weeks per application year. The application year is the 12-month period beginning with the first day of a covered individual's paid leave.
However, certain types of leave are limited to 6 weeks in a 24-month period:
- Leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition and for qualifying military exigencies (6 weeks in a 24-month period)
- Leave for an employee's own serious health condition (6 weeks in a 24-month period)
- Parental leave (12 weeks in a 12-month period)
- Cumulative max per application year for any combination of qualifying reasons is 12 weeks
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Employees can make a PFMLI claim through their online account at americanfidelity.com/login or AFmobile®, our mobile app. Paper applications are also available but strongly discouraged due to the delays that paper applications can cause.
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Eligible employees will receive up to 80% of their own average weekly wage, subject to minimum and maximum weekly benefit amounts set by the state. The maximum weekly benefit amount is $900, and the minimum weekly benefit amount is $100 or the employee's full wage replacement amount if the employee makes less than $100 per week. Benefit amounts are determined by the Delaware Department of Labor and are subject to change.
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An employer may require employees to use up to 75% of the employee's available employer-provided paid leave such as sick leave, vacation leave, or other paid time off (PTO) before accessing PFMLI benefits. The PTO used by the employee can be counted against the employee's total PFMLI allotment. Employees cannot be required to exhaust more than 75% of the employer provided PTO.
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Spouses do not have to share/combine the total paid leave allotment. Each spouse eligible for PFMLI is entitled to the full amount of paid leave while eligible. Keep in mind that this is for PFMLI claims only. Other protected leave laws may apply different rules.
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Yes. Employees can choose to apply for leave on an intermittent or reduced-schedule basis. The same employee notice requirements that apply to continuous claims also apply to intermittent claims, and employees must provide 30 days’ notice or as soon as practicable under the circumstances for each absence for intermittent or reduced-schedule leave.
Parental leave can only be taken on a reduced or intermittent schedule if permitted by the employer.
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Employees can apply for paid leave benefits in increments of full workdays or full work weeks. If an employee claims benefits for less than a full work week, their benefit will be calculated based on the number of workdays they typically work.
Intermittent paid leave is not permitted in increments of less than a full workday.
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If an employee takes at least a full work week of paid leave and a holiday falls during that week, the entire week will be counted against their paid leave time. However, if the employee is taking intermittent leave and takes less than a whole work week of paid leave, the holiday will only count against their paid leave allotment if they were scheduled to work the holiday and chose to use paid leave instead.
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PFMLI benefits begin on January 1, 2026.
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American Fidelity's PFMLI plan covers:
- 12 weeks of paid leave annually to bond with and care for a new child (whether through birth, foster placement, or adoption)
- 6 weeks in a 24-month period to:
- Address one's own serious health condition
- 6 weeks in a 24-month period to:
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition or address the impact of a family member's overseas military deployment
An employee is limited to 12 weeks of leave, regardless of the type of leave, in a 12-month period.
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To be eligible for American Fidelity’s PFMLI private plan, the employee must meet all of the following criteria:
- The employee must work for a covered Delaware employer.
- An employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months.
- An employee has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the 12 months before the leave (“hours of service” are hours actually worked and does not include time off for vacation, illness, or any other leave).
- The employee worked in Delaware for at least 60% of those 1,250 hours or worked out of state but is classified by the employer as eligible for Delaware Paid Leave.
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You must determine how to recoup that payment, as PFMLI is the primary payer.
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If this happens, you must add the employee to the census file like other employees. American Fidelity will determine eligibility for PFMLI benefits based on applicable requirements.
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No, we cannot share the medical details regarding why we approved or denied the paid leave claim. This is because the information obtained to make that decision is Protected Health Information (PHI), which we cannot legally share. We can share certain general information about employees’ leave claims, such as approvals, denials, dates of approved leave, etc.
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To be eligible, an employee must work primarily in Delaware (60% of their time or more), have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, and have at least 1,250 hours of service (about 25 hours a week) in the most recent 12 months.
Employees who worked more than 60% of their time outside of Delaware may also be eligible if their employer classifies them as eligible for PFMLI benefits.
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Through your online account, you will manage and pay your premiums at least monthly or more frequently to coincide with your payroll cycles.
We will notify you when premiums are due. You’ll fill out an online premium worksheet every pay period and pay the required premiums. We recommend paying with electronic fund transfer (EFT) to ensure your payment is received and to speed up posting premiums.
How to Pay: To make your payment and submit your worksheet, follow these steps:
- Log in to your online account
- Select the Billing tab
- Select Current Bills tab
- Select the payroll period you’d like to pay
- Complete the worksheet
- Submit your worksheet and payment
Need more help? Follow these detailed instructions on how to submit your payment via check or EFT.
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You will not receive a bill. You will complete a premium worksheet each pay period and send your payment by EFT or check. To help ensure your payment is received and to assist with faster posting of premiums, we suggest paying by EFT instead of checks.
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If you have American Fidelity’s PFMLI plan and an employee files a claim for their own serious health condition, they have the option to withhold state and/or federal taxes for their benefits at the time of claim. An employee can notify us to change their withholding status for future benefit payments by calling 800-662-1113. Taxes cannot be withheld or refunded from benefit payments an employee has already received.
For other types of paid leave, American Fidelity cannot withhold taxes. Your employees may be responsible for paying taxes on the benefits they receive when they file their next tax return. To confirm their tax obligations, refer them to IRS Publication 505 or urge them to contact the Delaware Department of Revenue or their tax advisor. American Fidelity cannot offer tax advice or determine whether taxes should be withheld from an employee's paid leave benefits.
If an employee requested American Fidelity to withhold taxes from their benefits for their own serious health condition, this will be reported on their W-2 Form. For all other types of paid leave, employees will receive a Form 1099-MISC from American Fidelity by the end of January each year.
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We are awaiting further guidance from the state of Delaware regarding annual reporting requirements. However, your private insurance plan must be renewed with the state on a yearly basis between October 1 and December 1.
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All employers, including those with approved private plans, are required to submit quarterly wage and hour reports for their employees. Employers will upload these quarterly reports through the employer's Delaware LaborFirst account.
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For employers with American Fidelity’s PFMLI Tax Assist, we will prepare and mail IRS Forms W-2 to your employees for their applicable medical leave benefits.
If you do not have our PFMLI Tax Assist service, we will provide third-party sick pay reporting for leave relating to employees’ own serious health condition.
This report will have the information needed to adjust the employee's W-2 forms. It will be available monthly, quarterly, and annually through your online account.
American Fidelity will withhold federal and state income taxes from Delaware Paid Leave taxable benefits that are considered third-party sick pay to the extent required, including the employee’s portion of FICA tax. The employer is responsible for remitting any additional state, local, or federal taxes, including the employer’s portion of FICA taxes, and for adjusting employees’ W-2 forms accordingly. Employers should consult an attorney or tax professional regarding their specific obligations.
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While we cannot provide tax or legal advice, current guidance indicates that family and safe leave/personal protected leave benefits are fully taxable, and medical leave benefits for an employee's own serious health condition are taxable based on employers’ contribution ratio. As such, leave for an employee’s own serious health condition are subject to third-party sick pay reporting and the employer will report a portion of those benefits on the employee’s Form W-2. For all other types of leave that are fully taxable to the employee, American Fidelity will issue a Form 1099 and send it to each employee when applicable after the end of the calendar year.
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While the premium amount owed is based on pre-tax wages, payroll deductions for PFMLI premiums are made on an after-tax basis.
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While the IRS has not provided definitive guidance, generally, all taxable benefit payments under six months that relate to an employee’s own serious health condition are subject to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). For medical leave benefits, the employer paid portion of the taxable benefit is subject to FICA and reported on Form W-2, unless the employer paid portion is taxed as wages (imputed to the employee’s wages). Non-medical leave benefits are not subject to FICA, but the gross benefit must be documented on 1099-MISC. We will withhold FICA tax from qualifying benefits and provide you with third-party sick pay reports so that you can fulfill your obligations. We will also provide your employees with IRS Form 1099 as applicable for those benefits that do not relate to an employee’s own serious health condition. You are responsible for Form W-2 reporting. All employers and employees should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of Delaware PAid Leave contributions and benefits.
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The reason for using PFMLI will affect how American Fidelity and the employer treats an employee’s benefit payments. Generally, family leave benefits are fully taxable to the employee and American Fidelity will report such benefits as taxable income on Form 1099-MISC, which will be sent to applicable employees following the end of each calendar year.
Medical leave benefits for an employee’s own serious health condition are treated like disability benefits for tax purposes. They are taxable to the employee based on the ratio of employer contributions to total contributions of premiums. If the employer pays the mandatory minimum contribution of 50% of the total contribution rate, 50% of the medical leave benefits an employee receives would be taxable income to the employee.
To the extent such medical leave benefits are considered taxable wages, they are subject to withholdings under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) for the first six months of such leave. When applicable, American Fidelity is responsible for withholding the employees’ portion of the mandatory FICA taxes and any voluntary taxes requested by the employee (federal and state income taxes). The employer must remit the employer portion of the FICA taxes on the medical leave benefits and adjust employees’ Form W-2s accordingly. American Fidelity will provide the employer with third-party sick pay reports on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, which will provide the employer with the information needed to fulfill these obligations.
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PFMLI benefits paid due to an employee's serious health condition will be reported to the employer through third-party sick pay reporting. These reports will show how much medical leave benefits are taxable to the employee. This allows employers to have the information to report the income on a Form W-2 and remit the employer share of FICA on the taxable portion of employees' medical leave benefits. Employers are encouraged to work with their tax advisors on the specific circumstances where it is appropriate to impute income to employees. American Fidelity does not provide tax advice.
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Yes, we will send Form 1099 to each employee when applicable after the end of the calendar year.