Maine paid leave law goes into effect January 1

Maine’s mandatory paid leave for workers went into effect on January 1.  The paid-leave law that went into effect Friday allows workers to accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year, at businesses with more than 10 employees. The law requires employers with over 10 workers to offer paid leave that could be used for illness or emergencies.

Maine is the first state to permit using this leave for reasons outside of illness, as long as employees give their employer reasonable notice.

The Maine Department of Labor has developed a slide presentation about the law that can be accessed here. In addition, the department has developed several resources to help employers and workers navigate this new law. This information is available on their Earned Paid Leave web page.

Megan Diver

Megan has worked in Maine politics for more than ten years and all of her professional career, having served in many roles for elected officials (including former Secretary of State Charlie Summers), in-house with the Maine Association of REALTORS®, legislative specialist at Pierce Atwood LLP providing lobbying services and support to Pierce Atwood’s government relations clients and most recently senior government relations specialist at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. Megan currently is the Vice President at the Maine Energy Marketers Association, utilizing her vast knowledge and legislative experience at the State House to represent MEMA on policies relating to the Association and its members.