Paid family and medical leave benefits will begin May 1

Starting May 1, workers across Maine will be able to access paid family and medical leave. 

The Maine Paid Leave Authority decided the start date at a meeting Tuesday. According to a news release from the Maine Women’s Lobby, the authority considered the solvency of the benefit fund and determined that starting the program in early May met their fiduciary obligation. 

The paid leave program was established by the Maine Legislature in 2023 and will allow eligible public and private sector workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave for reasons such as illness, to care for a loved one, or the birth of a new child. 

Maine employers began withholding a portion of wages about a year ago to pay into the fund, so this newly determined start date offers a clear timeline of when workers will be able to tap the new benefit.

Employers with 15 or more workers contribute 1% of wages, but may deduct half of that from employee wages. Employers with fewer employees will contribute 0.5% and may take all of it from employees’ wages. 

“When benefits go live this spring, we will see the culmination of years of work toward a more just, equitable economy that values families, caregivers, and all workers,” said Destie Hohman Sprague, executive director of the Maine Women’s Lobby.

Applications for workers to access paid leave are not available yet, but the Maine Department of Labor will release more information on how to access them at a later date. 

The program has faced legal challenges throughout its development, including a lawsuit from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and Bath Iron Works challenging the department’s rules. However, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously decided that the rules adopted by the Maine Department of Labor are constitutional and a legal interpretation of the legislation that created the program.