Maine Dept. of Labor says public is ‘definitely engaging’ in paid leave rulemaking

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)

“Policy is rarely a panacea,” said Destie Hohman Sprague, executive director of the Maine Women’s Lobby.

But paid family and medical leave may come as close as it gets for anyone who juggles family life and work.

As Hohman Sprague pointed out, there’s almost no demographic “that does not need to deal with maintaining your income while dealing with a person or family crisis.” For that reason, creating a statewide paid family and medical leave is a “cost-effective” solution for those universal social and economic challenges.

Maine was the 13th state to adopt paid family and medical leave legislation when it was passed and included in the state budget last July.

The key components of the policy are laid out in statute , but earlier this year, the Department of Labor drafted rules that refine the details and help map out implementation of the program. They clarify definitions, exemptions and other parameters about how and when the program applies.

Mainers have until July 8 to share their feedback on the draft rules with the Department of Labor through mail or an online form.

On June 10, the department hosted an in-person meeting during which roughly a dozen people spoke.

Luke Monahan, the paid family and medical leave director for the Department of Labor, said he couldn’t comment on specific themes that have come up in public comment, but “people are definitely engaging.”

Seeking feedback from ‘a broad swath of people’

Monahan said the comment period was open for a protracted period of time because the department wants to hear from “a broad swath of people and different interest groups and employers and employees alike.”

While Hohman Sprague and others close to the development of the program applaud the draft rules, pointing out nuanced areas for improvement, the Maine business community has expressed concerns over how this will affect employers in the state.

Hohman Sprague, who serves on the Maine Paid Leave Coalition and worked with lawmakers to get the legislation passed, said she commended the department for drafting “thorough and intentional” rules in a short period of time.

A draft of Maine’s new paid family and medical leave rule now available for public input

James Myall, another coalition member and analyst for the Maine Center for Economic Policy, said the rules are “generally good” and “erred on the side of making it fair for the employees wherever they can.”

After the close of public comments, Monahan said the department will determine if there are any necessary revisions and if there needs to be a second public comment period. Though he couldn’t provide a timeline of when a final version would be ready, Monahan said the department is committed to finalizing the rules as quickly as possible. The program has a target deadline of May 2026 for benefits to be available.

“We really do recognize that this program is some of the largest legislation that’s been passed in Maine in recent years — maybe decades — in the fact that it really affects or applies to over 600,000 Maine employees and probably over 60,000 Maine employers,” Monahan said.

Who is eligible?

Paid family and medical leave allows 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.

Per statute, workers need to earn at least six times the state average weekly wage in the 12 months before their benefits begin. As of July 1, Maine’s average weekly wage is $1,144.

Those parameters should cover most employees in the state, Myall said. But he pointed out that the draft rules excluded two groups who weren’t named in the law: College students who earn wages as part of the federal Work-Study Program and people who earn wages while incarcerated.

Myall said he wasn’t quite sure why those groups were excluded, but said the coalition is inclined to include as many people as possible in the program.

How is it paid for?

Eligible employees will contribute to a public fund that will help cover the cost of the benefit. Statute says contributions can be up to 1% of a worker’s wages, and is split between the employer and employee depending on the size of the company.

Once the benefit is up and running, the exact contribution amount will be reevaluated each year, but for calendar years 2025 to 2027, the contribution rate will be 1%, which will be shared between the employer and employee. However, for companies with fewer than 15 employees, the employer does not pay their portion but workers will still pay 0.5% and collect benefits.

Although the department is starting at the maximum contribution, Myall said it is likely the state will lower it in the future. However, he said he suspects the state is “erring on the side of overfilling the bucket to begin with and giving people a break later, rather than starting too low and then realizing that they need to increase” the rate.

Myall also said the rules don’t fully resolve the question around employers who may fluctuate above and below that 15-employee threshold. Under the rules, the number of employees will be counted on October 1 of each year. This may simplify the administrative work, but Myall said he’s concerned this could distort seasonal businesses like ski resorts or amusement parks.

Concern from Maine business community

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.

This timeline has drawn pushback from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and others in the business community.

The law allows for a business to opt-out of the state paid leave program if it provides an equivalent private plan. However, the draft rules state that businesses need to begin contributions next January, even if they intend to use a private plan.

Instead, the chamber and other business groups would like to see the opt-out window line up 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.

The state hasn’t yet approved equivalent private plans, Hohman Sprague said, so until that happens, she sees it as “fair and appropriate” for businesses to contribute universally.

Myall said there isn’t significant concern that too many employers will opt out of the state’s program. But problems could arise if employers granted exemptions don’t end up getting a private plan or getting one that doesn’t meet the standards, he said.

Defining ‘family’

Because paid family and medical leave is not just about taking care of oneself, Maine’s policymakers need to determine who qualifies as family. Though there are legal definitions for certain familial relationships, they often fail to capture the reality of who someone’s family is.

The statute lists specific family relationships including child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling and spouse, including iterations of step, foster or adoptive.

But the statute also includes a broad category for people that are “like” family. It defines this as having a significant personal bond with someone regardless of biological or legal relationship.

While the draft rules maintain an expansive definition, there’s an additional caveat that a person can only have one of those “like family” relationships per year.

Hohman Sprague appreciates that the department chose to include a broad definition of family, but she said the coalition is concerned about limiting the number of people per year. Many people have close relationships that fall outside of the traditional bonds of family, but Hohman Sprague said this is particularly true for marginalized communities such as the LGBTQ community that may be more reliant on “chosen family” — or those without a legal relationship.

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