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On Wednesday, the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL) released a new set of rules regarding the Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) program. These rules come in response to the more than 1,000 comments submitted to the MDOL after the previous rules were released. The League submitted a comment letter in July and requested changes in two major areas.
First, the original rulemaking left the burden of proving undue hardship on the employer. This language has been changed to provide clarity and an employer may now request notice of intention to take leave in writing using a standardized form.
Second, under the new proposed rules credit unions and other employers will no longer be required to pay into a system for 14 months that they do not intend to use. Applications for exemption will now begin on April 1, 2025 as opposed to January 1, 2026. Exemptions will start on the first day of the quarter in which the substitution is approved. Employers who request an exemption must provide equivalent coverage beginning no later than May 1, 2026.
These modifications ameliorate the concerns the League and hundreds of others raised in our comment letter and we are pleased to see that the MDOL incorporated these much-needed changes. A public hearing on the new rules will be held on Tuesday, September 17, and the public comment period will end on September 30. If you have comments on the new rules, please contact Krista Simonis, League Director of Governmental Affairs, at ksimonis@mainecul.org.