The Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) announced Tuesday that 300 individuals submitted public comment concerning a proposed set of rules for the state’s newly-created Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.
This past summer, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a budget into law that, among other things, established the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program with a starting appropriation of $25 million.
Beginning in the Spring of 2026, Maine workers will be eligible to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a sick family member, as well as to bond with a newborn baby or newly-adopted child.
Also eligible for leave are those experiencing a serious health condition who are rendered unable to work for an extended period.
Click Here for More Information on the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program
According to a press release published by the MDOL Tuesday, comments were submitted by both employers and workers from a variety of economic sectors.
“Thank you to everyone who submitted public comments, whether online, in-person, or through the mail,” said Luke Monahan, Director of Paid Family and Medical Leave. “Your thoughts and feedback will help us continue to develop this new program in a way that will work for the State of Maine’s workers and businesses.”
The MDOL went on to explain that the Department will be reviewing each submission and may make changes to the proposed rules in response. The Department will then have the option of issuing an updated version of the rules for further public comment.
The Department must adopt a final set of rules for the program by January 1, 2025.
[RELATED: MDOL Now Accepting Public Comment on Proposed Rules for Paid Family and Medical Leave Program]
Under the budget legislation approved in 2023, an employee’s weekly benefit amount for this program is to be calculated relative to the average amount of their typical paycheck.
The per-employee premium that must be paid by businesses to fund this benefit is statutorily capped at 1 percent of their wages. Employers are permitted to ask workers to contribute up to 50 percent of this cost.
Businesses responsible for more than 15 employees must cover the other 50 percent of the premium themselves, while smaller businesses are only required to turn over the 50 percent paid by their workers.
Also encoded in the law is guidance for the program’s applicability to self-employed individuals, explaining that they may opt into the program and, if they choose to do so, would be responsible for paying the same 50 percent premium contributed by small businesses.
It is also specified in the law that upon return to work, an employee must be reinstated to the same — or a suitably-equivalent — position.
Click Here to Read the 2023 Budget Legislation
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce has argued that the proposed rules are in need of major revisions before they go into effect.
In a press release published Monday, the Chamber shared the contents of the letter they submitted to the Department during the public comment period.
“We appreciate the time and effort from the Department of Labor to implement this program under significant time pressure with financial contributions commencing in less than six months,” they wrote. “At the same time, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce believes the rules must be overhauled to be consistent with the statute, and there are numerous areas in the proposed rules that require clarification.”
“Specifically, the utilization of private plans for compliance, a major discussion point during the legislative process and integral to other state plans, is subverted by the rules that will cause enormous financial hardship in a matter of months on businesses and employees alike,” the Chamber continued.
“Furthermore, the hardship provision is inconsistent with the statute by undercutting a key role of the employer in determining a reasonable hardship,” they said. “These two provisions are fundamental to the Maine PFML statute and must be overhauled in the rules.”
Click Here to Read the Chamber’s Full Press Release
The Chamber went into further detail regarding their objections to the proposed rules in testimony they offered to the MDOL during a public hearing in June.
The MDOL has until early November to review and act upon the comments received from members of the public before issuing their final set of rules by January 1, 2025.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29208 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29208">4 Comments
Welcome to the Socialist State of Maine, where life is no longer the way it should be. This new boondoggle makes Maine approximatley equivallent to the left wing country to our North, that I have read, is run by Fidel Castro’s Son.
So the business grants 12 weeks leave then has to hire a temp at probably at least twice the cost of the regular employee. Temp agencies charge large fees.
Then that temp gets laid off when the regular employee wants to return.
What if the temp does a better job?
What if the position is not one that can easily be filled by a temp, like engineers, nurses, or the like?
This is another recipe for business disaster that the socialists running this state love. They have zero business sense.
Can we say NO, we do not comply,
Glad to see the bureaucrats know how to run someone else’s business better than the owners.