Labor & Employment

LD 1712 amends Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave program to adjust requirements for employees and employers. It requires employees to give reasonable notice before taking leave and allows employers to deny leave based on specific, defined hardships (such as having fewer than 15 employees, a summer labor shortage, or more than 25% of staff already on leave), without review of such decisions. The bill also revises benefit calculations to replace 65% of average weekly wage (with 90% replacement for wages up to 50% of the state average and 66% for higher wages), shortens application deadlines for benefits (with waivers for good cause), and modifies premium payments so employers deduct 50% of the cost from employee wages while covering the remaining 50%.

LD 1333 updates Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave program to clarify eligibility and administration. It requires employees to have worked for an employer for at least 120 days to qualify, shortens the deadline for filing leave applications from 90 to 30 days after leave begins, and adjusts employer contribution rules: companies with 15+ workers can deduct 50% of premiums from employee wages and send 100% to the fund, while smaller employers send 50%. The bill also specifies that leave under this program runs concurrently with federal FMLA, and defines "self-employed" to include small business owners with fewer than 15 employees. These changes directly affect Maine workers seeking leave and their employers managing contributions.

LD 853 replaces Maine's current minimum wage with a regionally based living wage starting January 1, 2026. The bill divides the state into three regions (Coastal: Hancock, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Kennebec, Oxford; Northern: Aroostook, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Somerset, Franklin, Washington, Androscoggin; Portland metropolitan: York, Cumberland) and sets the wage for each region based on annual data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (or successor) for "one adult with no children." Until December 31, 2025, the minimum wage remains $14.65 per hour. After 2026, the wage will automatically adjust each January based on the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region, rounded to the nearest 5¢.