21-04-2025
Maine lawmakers will weigh more than a dozen proposals to modify paid family and medical leave
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)
The state's paid family and medical leave program will be center stage later this week as both Republicans and Democrats look to modify the new employee benefit.
The Legislature's Labor Committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday afternoon for 13 bills to change the program that has yet to take effect for workers but has prompted some pushback among the business community, which has started making payments into the benefit system. The majority of the proposals seek to repeal or scale back the program, but others are looking to clarify the existing law or make it more accessible for employees.
A bill from Rep. Tiffany Roberts (D-South Berwick) is the only one with bipartisan support. LD 1712 hopes to strike a better balance between employee and employer interests by modifying how much an employer is required to contribute, when an employee needs to apply for the benefit and how much is paid out.
Though it isn't expected to be available until May 2026, the paid family and medical leave program will allow eligible public and private sector workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for reasons such as illness, to care for a loved one or the birth of a new child.
Proponents have described it as a panacea and a way to make certain jobs more accessible, while opponents argued that certain requirements are too burdensome on employers.
The Maine Department of Labor finalized the program's rules in December after an outpouring of input from employees and the business community. At the start of the year, Maine employers began withholding a portion of wages to pay into the new paid family and medical leave fund.
Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Cumberland) and Rep. Kristen Cloutier (D-Lewiston), co-sponsors of the original legislation establishing the program, are introducing LD 894 on behalf of the department that would make a series of amendments to the current law to create certain enforcement mechanisms and penalties, as well as clarify intermittent leave.
Daughtry said she plans to testify in 'strong and unequivocal' opposition to the bills that want to delay, weaken, exempt or dismantle the program. Rather than waiting to see how Maine's paid family and medical leave system operates and then making adjustments based on experience, Daughtry said the bills represent a 'reversal of course before the program has had a chance to begin.'
'Maine workers deserve a strong benefits program and I'll be fighting to protect it,' she said.
There are two nearly identical proposals to repeal the program entirely. In addition, House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) has two bills to make the benefit voluntary for employers and employees (LD 1273) and delay its start until 2027 (LD 1249). All four pieces of legislation have emergency preambles, which means they would take effect immediately if passed by two-thirds of the Legislature.
Another emergency proposal from Sen. Russell Black (R-Franklin)would exempt agricultural workers (LD 952). And though not an emergency measure, LD 1400 seeks to exempt certain public school districts and their employees from the benefit program.
Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Philips) has a bill (LD 1169) that would allow employers to get a refund for any premiums paid into the state's plan if they are approved to use a private substitute plan. Sen. Dick Bradstreet (R-Kennebec) is similarly looking to better accommodate employers wishing to use a substitute private plan with LD 1307.
Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R-Milford) is proposing an amendment to the state constitution with LD 1221 to prohibit the Legislature from using paid family and medical leave program funds for any other purpose.
Labor Committee co-chairs Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) and Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) are introducing LD 575 to remove a provision in the current law that requires leave to be scheduled. While that is meant to prevent undue hardship on an employer, the bill title says its removal would create more equitable access to the program.
Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) is proposing a series of changes with LD 1333 that would seek to clarify the definition of 'self-employed individual' and prevent employers from having to bargain with unions over the employee's share of the program, among other tweaks.
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