Lawmakers in Augusta have unanimously rejected the Democrat-led effort to eliminate a clause in the state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave Program that gives employers a say in when their employees take leave.
The program, enacted last year as part of a spending bill, has imposed a one percent payroll tax on most working Mainers and their employers to fund paid leave for all employees statewide, with benefits becoming available only in May of 2026.
The law and related rules defining how this program works currently require that employees’ leave must be scheduled in such a way that it does not create “undue hardship” for their employers.
This provision would have been repealed, however, if LD 575 — sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) and cosponsored by Rep. Amy J. Roeder (D-Bangor) — were to have been approved.
While many Republican critics and business owners believe the law is already burdensome for businesses, the two Penobscot County Democrats sponsored legislation that could have potentially made the law even tougher for those who sign the front of the paychecks.
[RELATED: Maine Lawmakers Propose Repeal of Employer Protections in Brand New Paid Leave Program]
Members of the Labor Committee unanimously voted in opposition to this proposal earlier this month following a marathon eight-hour hearing held at the end of April.
In his testimony to the Labor Committee, Sen. Tipping explained that this clause was a “compromise that worried [him] at the time” as the program was being developed.
“I have some concerns that the rule making on this provision so far has interpreted this too broadly,” he said.
Deborah Delp of Yankee Marina and Boatyard testified in opposition to this bill, detailing all the ways that she and her family have taken steps to protect and care for their employees.
“Aren’t we an important part of this equation? And shouldn’t our challenges be considered as well? Because ultimately this is all in fragile balance,” said Delp.
“It appears as though we as business owners are seen as the bad guys,” she said. “And we absolutely are not.”
“We don’t sit on bags of gold in our offices,” Delp added. ”We don’t think up ways of taking advantage of our employees.”
President of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce Patrick Woodcock told the Maine Wire earlier this year that the organization “would oppose striking that provision unequivocally.”
“I think the intent really was that the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program — for businesses that would be really undermined by a leave at a critical period — would have some ability to negotiate a use of leave that would not cause a challenge for the business,” Woodcock explained.
“I think [the undue hardship provision] was sort of a recognition that if this program is offered, that there be a recognition that this really can be — given the state of the economy — a real hardship for some businesses, but mostly small employers,” he said.
Woodcock also told the Maine Wire that while the Chamber clearly opposing eliminating this provision, they would like to see it improved.
Tuesday morning, the Committee’s unanimous Ought Not to Pass report was accepted by the Senate without a roll call vote, meaning that it was placed in the legislative files as a dead bill.
