Paid Family Medical Leave FAQs
Date postedJanuary 2, 2025
In 2023, Governor Mills signed a budget that included the creation of a paid family and medical leave program, making Maine the 13th state to establish one. Eligible workers in the private and public sector will have up to 12 weeks of paid time off available to them for family or medical reasons including illness, to care for a relative, or for the birth or adoption of a child.
The program will be funded via a payroll contribution, split between most employers and employees. This will begin in 2025, and employees will be able to receive benefits starting in 2026.
MANP hosted an information session on December 5th, just after the final rules of the program were published. Tim Powell and Steve Smith, attorneys from Littler, provided an overview of the program and fielded questions. Maine Department of Labor staff Reggie Parson and Safiya Khalid were also on hand to answer questions.
Resources
- Maine's Paid Family Medical Leave Program Rules, FAQs, etc.
- Maine PFML Contributions Portal
- December 5th Presentation Recording and Slides
- Participant Questions & Answers
- In December, the Department launched a PFML-specific call center, which can be reached at (207) 621-5024 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Webinar Questions and Answers
Definitions and Eligibility
What employers and employees are covered by this law?
The law pertains to all Maine employees. The only exclusions are any wages from federal workstudy (student wages otherwise count), wages of the incarcerated, wages of railroad workers, and certain qualified volunteers and federal employees (even if in Maine).
No. For this employee, you would be subject to that state's laws, and want to alert the employee to any coverage options.
All types of employees are eligible for the program. Please see the definition of covered employees in the rules.
Yes. Independent contractors can establish accounts as a sole practitioner and provide necessary tax information that will help in determining how much their premium will be based on their net income. Self employed individuals pay 50% of the premium amount or 0.5%. Their income is still subject to meeting the 6 times the state average weekly wage requirement that an employee working for an employer must be in order to obtain a benefit.
If someone is employed and also works as an independent contractor separately, they may be reportable by their employer and have their own account. The ME PFML program would sort out the benefits payable based on what’s reported.
Communicating with Employees
There are fact sheets/FAQs on the Department of Labor website available in multiple languages, and a required posting.
Employers should provide immediate notice to employees using the poster provided by Maine Department of Labor, or a similar communication as long as all the elements of the poster are included.
Payroll Contributions
For employers with fewer than 15 employees, the employer can choose whether to pay the premium on behalf of employees or withhold it from employee pay. Either way, the employer must use the same approach for all employees.
No, it must be the same for all employees.
Employers should consult the formula of the lookback period to determine which employees are reportable for that time frame. The type of employees that would count are full or part time who received pay for any part of the pay period. Temporary and intermittent employees are included, as are any workers who are on paid sick leave, on paid holiday, or who work during only part of the specified pay period.
There is no minimum number of weeks needed to work to be eligible. So long as an employee has the minimum earnings history they are entitled to leave on day 1 of employment. For the purpose of job protections, the employee must have worked for an employer for 120 days or more to be entitled to job protections, meaning the employee must be returned to their original position including the benefits or an equivalent position/benefits they held prior to taking the leave.
You may voluntarily pay the 0.5%, or may withhold this amount from employees, in which case there is no cost to you as an employer.
Third party payroll services should know about the new rule, but you should connect with them to confirm.
This is an employer decision.
All employers must register for an account to begin wage reporting in April. The online system for employers to register their business information, designate a payroll processor, file quarterly wage reports, and remit quarterly premium contributions will be releasing in January.
Using Benefits
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It is more complicated than that - please see the formula on the PFML website.
They do not. However if it is a medical leave claim, the State will not pay that claim for the first 7 days and in that case the employee can use existing leave by the employer to compensate that week they are not being paid.
Can we require an EE to use a week's PTO / Sick Time before they begin using leave (waiting period)?
No. The law does not require an employee to draw down on any existing PTO or sick time. However if it is a medical leave claim, those benefits are not payable for 7 days and in that case sick time can be used to compensate for the week the State is not paying.
Yes, but this can get complicated, and you will want to work with a broker or HR consultant to design and integrate supplemental benefits.
The weekly benefit amount for this program is capped at the State Average Weekly Wage so individuals should not be making more on leave.
Employers are responsible for collecting/paying the premiums, but are not responsible for paying out benefits. Benefits will be paid by the state program, unless an employer opts in for a private plan substitution and is approved by that state.
A12-month period that starts on the first day of leave.
Tax Implications
If the employer chooses to cover the employee's 0.5% portion of the premium, that will likely be considered taxable income to the employee
Premiums are calculated on total subject wages, before federal income tax, state income tax, and Social Security and Medicare taxes are deducted.
The question of whether PFML premiums are taxable is reliant on the guidance and processes of the Federal Internal Revenue Service. Employers should work closely with their tax professionals on this question.