Key legislators
Who's moving labor & employment in Maine
Showing 11–16 of 16
bills
All labor & employment bills
This bill repeals Maine's mandatory paid family and medical leave program, making participation voluntary instead. It limits the program to employers with 50 or more employees and requires the Department of Labor to refund all contributions made under the previous mandatory system to both employers and employees by June 2026. Unappropriated funds from the leave program must be transferred to the state's general fund by June 30, 2026. The changes take effect retroactively to October 25, 2023.
This bill exempts agricultural employers and employees from Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program, directly affecting those working in agriculture as defined by state and federal law. It requires the Department of Labor to refund all contributions paid by agricultural employers and self-employed individuals to the program, including any premiums deducted from employee wages that must be returned to workers. The refunds apply retroactively to October 25, 2023, when contributions began. The legislation aims to halt economic harm to the agricultural sector by eliminating these financial obligations.
LD 406 repeals Maine's paid family and medical leave program and requires the state to refund all contributions collected from employers and employees since January 1, 2025. The bill stops future contributions and mandates immediate refunds to taxpayers to address economic harm to businesses and workers. As an emergency measure, it bypasses Maine's standard 90-day legislative waiting period for immediate effect. This directly affects Maine employers and employees who had begun paying into the program in 2025.
LD 1204 removes the disqualification for a conviction of "aggravated cultivating of marijuana" (under Maine law, Title 17-A, section 1105-D) from the list of criminal offenses that bar employment as a direct access worker. Direct access workers provide in-home personal care services, such as assistance with daily living activities, through personal care agencies. This amendment specifically allows individuals with this specific marijuana-related conviction to seek employment in the personal care sector without automatic disqualification.
LD 206 eliminates the automatic annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Maine's minimum hourly wage, fixing it at $14.65 per hour as of January 1, 2025. This change removes the requirement for the wage to increase each January 1st based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region. The bill directly affects all workers covered by Maine's minimum wage law, including most hourly employees in businesses across the state. It prevents future automatic raises tied to inflation, though the current $14.65 rate remains in effect until further legislative action.
LD 644 removes current restrictions that limit work hours and conditions for minor students aged 16-17 in Maine. It repeals specific rules prohibiting minors from working more than 50 hours weekly when school is out, 24 hours when school is in, and set time limits (like not working after 10:15 p.m. the night before school or before 7 a.m. on school days). The bill also eliminates the ban on minors working during school hours and removes employer record-keeping requirements for minor employees' work schedules. As a result, minor students gain greater flexibility in scheduling work around school without these legal constraints.
