December 5, 2024
The Maine Department of Labor (DOL) announced on December 4th that the rules for the much-anticipated Paid Family Medical Leave program have been finalized. By law, all Maine employers are now required effective January 1, 2025, to contribute 0.5 or 1 percent from each employee’s paycheck each pay period, funds that will be banked for later use through a system administered by the Maine DOL and an insurance company. The deduction rate of 0.5 or 1 percent is based on the size of the employer. Employers with 15 or more employees who are paid 20 or more weeks per year will contribute 1 percent of wages and may deduct up to half of the contribution from their employees’ wages. Payroll contributions begin on January 1, 2025, and eligible workers will be able to use leave beginning in the spring of 2026.
Employers must register with the Maine Department of Labor to use the PFML portal in January of 2025. Employers are required to remit contributions to the Maine PFML Fund. The Maine Department of Labor will release guidance on this process soon, and Devine Millimet will keep our Maine clients posted once this guidance is published.
Beginning May 1, 2026, eligible Maine workers in the private and public sectors may use up to 12 weeks of paid leave for their own or a family member’s medical care, to deal with the transition of a family member’s pending military deployment, or to obtain safety after experiencing abuse or violence. This leave can also be used by new parents, whether they are biological parents or adoptive parents to a child, to bond with their child. Eligibility is largely determined by the worker’s length of service with their employer.
Maine is now the 13th state to establish a paid family medical leave program, following the lead of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. New Hampshire has a unique optional Paid Family Medical leave program that employers or eligible employees may opt into. These leave programs are emerging in various states and some municipalities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposed challenges for employers striving to keep their businesses running and profitable, working parents, employees caring for elderly family members, and employees caring for their own health during an unprecedented challenge to our nation’s healthcare system.
If you would like guidance on these new rules, please contact Deirdre Salsich at Devine Millimet at dsalsich@devinemillimet.com, or by phone at 603-695-8769. More information and instructions for employers regarding the Paid Family & Medical Leave portal can be found at the Maine Department of Labor’s website.
