MAINE – After holding two rounds of public comment and reviewing over 1,600 comments, the Maine Department of Labor has adopted the final rule for the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.

"We are excited to now have a final rule in place as we continue to stand up this program that will have such positive impacts for Maine’s workforce," said Luke Monahan, Director of Paid Family and Medical Leave. "Thank you to all who submitted comments, attended listening sessions, and have been following this process. Your input was valuable, and we can now take on the important next step of communicating how the program will work to both employers and workers.”

With payroll contributions beginning on January 1, 2025, the Department is holding webinars this month to walk through the process for employers and TPAs.

Benefits are scheduled to begin May 1, 2026, and the Department will hold webinars explaining how to apply for benefits as that date gets closer.

To keep up to date on Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave, as well as view answers to frequently asked questions, visit www.maine.gov/paidleave/. Public comments and the Department’s answers to them can also be found on the webpage under “The Rules.”

The Department has also prepared a one-page informational flyer of what employers need to do to prepare for January contributions: WhatEmployersNeedtoKnowJanuary2025.pdf

Other Paid Family & Medical Leave News:

The Maine Department of Labor invited employers and third-party administrators to upcoming webinars that will focus on what they need to know about the new Paid Family and Medical Leave online contributions portal before they need to register in January.

The employer webinar took place on December 3, and a recording can be found here: https://youtu.be/P7UyzkTZsWU

The third-party based webinar will take place on December 10 from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.

This webinar will focus on what TPA's need to know about the Paid Leave Portal. Staff from the PFML program will moderate the session and provide an overview about the important aspects of the Portal such as how to register, file wage reports, remit premiums and request third party access.

Register for the third-party administrator webinar here.

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