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This legislative session, several bills have garnered significant consideration and attention. Of these contentious bills, L.D. 369, “An Act Authorizing Earned Employee Leave,” was recently signed by Governor Janet Mills and will become law 90 days after the adjournment of the Legislature. Even though the law will be on the books this fall, it will not take effect until January 1, 2021. This delay will give employers time to adjust and state regulators time to develop rules and enforcement procedures.
The path for this bill to become law was long and full of discussions and revisions, but in the end the legislation received bipartisan support. When L.D. 369 was first proposed, many did not believe that opponents could ever be won over because of the original drafting of the bill.
The bill initially presented to the Labor and Housing Committee was a paid sick leave bill that would have required employers currently offering paid time off to develop a new sick leave benefit. Through negotiations, paid sick leave was removed and earned paid leave became the requirement for Maine employers with 10 or more employees.
Maine businesses, including credit unions, would have been directly impacted by the original proposal of creating a new paid sick leave benefit for all employees. Through successful negotiations, led by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, other business organizations, and the Mills Administration, the impact for many businesses has been diminished. Some specifics of the paid time off law are listed below. If you have any questions or concerns with the new law, please contact the League’s Governmental Affairs Team.
- Employers must comply and offer paid time off by January 1, 2021.
- Employers with over 10 employees for more than 120 days in any calendar year must permit each employee to earn paid time off based on the employee’s base pay.
- Seasonal industries as defined by law are exempted.
- Employees are entitled to earn one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours in one year of employment.
- Accrual for leave benefit must begin at the start of employment.
- Employees must work for 120 days before an employer is required to permit the use of accrued paid leave.
- The state law preempts the authority of any municipality to enact any ordinance or other rule, purporting to have the force of law, from regulating earned paid leave.