Supporters of paid family and medical leave policy rallied on the steps of the Maine State House in June 2023. One month later the policy became law. (Courtesy of Maine Women's Lobby)
After a deluge of feedback, the Maine Department of Labor has updated its proposed rules for the new paid family and medical leave program.
Among more than a dozen other changes , the latest draft clarifies the definition of a family member and outlines how a business could opt out of the state plan, which was a key concern raised by the business community in the initial round of public comment.
The department reviewed more than 1,000 comments submitted by almost 300 people earlier this summer, according to a news release Wednesday. The new rule could affect more than 600,000 Maine workers.
“The last seven weeks was really us going through reading every single comment, and we did — and I did, personally, myself — read every single comment, understand the feedback and then make common sense changes to the current set of rules,” said Luke Monahan, the paid family and medical leave director for the Department of Labor.
In addition to accepting comments online and through the mail, the department is holding an in-person listening session on the updated rules on Sept. 17.
Even with needing a second public comment period, Monahan said he feels confident the department will still meet its deadline of having finalized rules by Jan. 1.
Slated to begin in May 2026, paid family and medical leave will allow eligible public and private sector workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for reasons such as illness, to care for a loved one or the birth of a new child.
Changes to substitutions and “like” family
Employers will be responsible for sending contributions to the state on employees’ behalf. Those payments will begin in January 2025 to allow time for the funds to accumulate to cover administrative costs and benefit payouts once they become available in May 2026.
The law allows for a business to opt-out of the state paid leave program if it provides an equivalent private plan.
Originally, the draft rules didn’t allow businesses to submit an application for a private plan until January 2026 — a year after they would be required to begin contributions. However, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and other business groups said they would like to see the opt-out window align with the contribution start date so that businesses can declare their intent to find an equivalent private plan without having to pay into the state fund.
Under the updated draft, applications for substitute plans could be submitted after April 1, 2025, which is still after the January 2025 contribution start date, but sooner than the originally proposed date. The new proposal also outlines a $250 fee to review opt-out applications, with an additional $250 fee if the application is approved.
Another change made in response to feedback is around the definition of people who are “like” family. Statute already lists specific family relationships and includes a broad category for people that are “like” family, defined as having a significant personal bond with someone regardless of biological or legal relationship.
The initial draft rules used the term “affinity relationships” to describe those “like” family relationships, but that phrase was removed in the updated draft since it was never used in statute, Monahan explained.
Additionally, the first draft had a caveat that a person could only have one “like family” relationship per year, but that was struck in the updated rules. There were concerns that the original caveat could be particularly limiting for those in marginalized communities who may be more reliant on “chosen family” — or those without a legal relationship.
Public comment will be open until 5 p.m. on Sept. 30. Comments can be submitted through a link on the department’s website or via mail sent to 50 State House Station, Augusta,
The department will also take comments in person at 9 a.m. on Sept. 17 at the DOL’s Frances Perkins Room at 45 Commerce Drive in Augusta. American Sign Language interpreters will be available.
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