At Madison Resources, it is our hope that we are perceived as a true partner to your staffing firm. To that end, we are always looking to assist you in providing necessary information, to promote accuracy and efficiencies, and make helpful resources available to you.
On July 11, 2023, Governor Mills signed the state budget into law that included the creation of the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law. Beginning in 2026, eligible workers in the private and public sector will have 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 of a child. Contributions to the program are set to begin on January 1, 2025.
What does this mean for you?
Maine PFML offers eligible workers in the state the ability to take up to 12 weeks of paid time off in a benefit year for medical, family, or safe leave or leave related to a family member’s pending military deployment.
Effective January 1, 2025, both employers and employees will begin contributing 1% of wages through payroll contributions to fund the program. For calendar years 2025 through 2027, workers and employers will split the 1% premium equally (0.5% worker, 0.5% employer) for businesses with 15 or more employees. For businesses with 15 or fewer employees, the total premium will be 0.5%. Employers may voluntarily pay this on the employee’s behalf or deduct it from an employee’s paycheck.
In addition to supporting workers, this program is designed to stabilize and increase workforce participation. Benefits are scheduled to go live on May 1, 2026.
Absent an emergency, illness, or other sudden necessity for taking leave, an employee shall give reasonable notice to the employer of their intention to use this leave. Use of such leave must be scheduled to prevent undue hardship on the employer as reasonably determined by the employer.
The taking of family or medical leave may not affect an employee’s right to accrue vacation time, sick time, bonuses, advancement, seniority, length of service credit or other employment benefits, plans, or programs.
During the duration of an employee’s family or medical leave, the employer shall continue to provide for and contribute to the employee’s employment-related health insurance benefits, if any, at the level and under the condition that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued working for the duration of the leave.
How can we help?
Madison Resources, as your payroll service provider, will deduct employee contributions from your employee’s paycheck during payroll processing, accrue the employer portion of the contribution amount when applicable, and remit the funds and required reporting to the State of Maine quarterly on your behalf.
As always, we recommend speaking with your attorney, CPA, or industry professional for further guidance.
To access the Maine PFML site for FAQ’s, Updates and General Information:
https://www.maine.gov/paidleave/
Contact Information:
To contact the Department of Labor:
Maine DOL
Augusta Career Center
45 Commerce Drive
Augusta, ME 04330
Call: 1 (800) 593-7660
(Customer service available Mon-Fri, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.)
Explore our website to find more Legislative Updates. Madison Resources is the premier payroll funding and back office support partner to the staffing industry. Grow with confidence.