A bill to tweak Maine's new paid family and medical leave law is advancing in the Legislature.
Starting next year, many employers across Maine will be required to start offering employees up to 12 weeks of paid time off to care for themselves or a sick family member or to bond with a newborn. Workers and employers began paying into a state-managed fund for the program in January. But some business groups continue to raise concerns that offering up to 12 weeks of paid leave could worsen staffing challenges.
Democrats in the Maine House and Senate have rejected several Republican-sponsored bills to significantly change, roll back or scrap the program altogether. And on Monday, the Senate voted 20-14 along party lines to advance a bill, LD 894, that would make some technical changes to the law while tweaking other aspects of the program.
For instance, the version of the bill advanced in the Senate would create a Bureau of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the Department of Labor. It also spells out the enforcement provisions for employers that fail to pay out premium contributions.
"This bill is about strengthening the paid family and medical leave program that has been carefully crafted over years of work and input from thousands of Mainers," the bill's lead sponsor, Democratic Senate President Mattie Daughtry of Brunswick, said in a statement. " By passing LD 894, we are ensuring that the program can be launched responsibly, with clarity, and with minimal disruption."
Republicans on Legislature's Labor Committee had backed a version of the bill with more significant changes but Democrats in the Senate did not advance that version of the bill.
One of those changes in the GOP-backed versino would have required workers to be employed for at least 120 days before becoming eligible for leave. The Republican committee members also proposed clarifying the criteria that would allow an employer to delay or deny an employee's request to take leave because their absence would pose an "undue hardship" to the business. Those criteria include, among other things, a preexisting labor shortage during the peak summer season or the fact that 25% of the the business's staff are already scheduled to be on leave or absent during the requested period.
"I think what we are looking for is a just measured, reasonable compromise or solution that everyone can work with," said Sen. Dick Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro. "Small businesses have to be able to utilize this or it just won't work."
The Legislature created the paid family and medical leave program in 2023 with support from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Maine was the last state in New England to offer paid leave, although how the programs are structured vary significantly from state to state.
The program is paid for with a wage tax of either 0.5% or 1%, depending on the size of the business, that is jointly paid by employers and workers. Businesses with less than 15 employees are not required to contribute to the fund but can deduct 0.5% from workers' pay checks.
Those wage withholdings began this year in order to begin amassing a reserve pool before employees can begin taking paid leave starting in January.
The bill faces additional votes in the House and Senate.
