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With the turning of the calendar, there are some new laws and regulations that require updates to policies and procedures. Maine’s Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) is now in effect. As part of this, all employers must register on the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Portal. All businesses may retain up to 0.5% of employee wages to offset the cost of the program, this must be reported and sent to the state on a quarterly basis. Employers with 15 or more employees will need to contribute an additional 0.5%.
The League has produced a flow chart to aid credit unions in identifying the amount of the premium. Even if your credit union plans to request an exemption, registration on the portal is still required. Private plans will begin to be approved in April, but employers must remit their quarterly contributions and wage reports until they have received an exemption. A failure to do so will result in a penalty of 1% of the employer’s total payroll. All employers must display a poster regarding the benefits for Paid Family and Medical Leave where employees can easily observe it.
Additionally, last session, the legislature updated member expulsion reasons to include threatening or dangerous behavior. This change, based on similar language for federal charters, is now also in effect. As part of this legislation, state chartered credit unions need to adopt a formal expulsion policy and provide that policy to their members. The Bureau has indicated that they will be examining for this beginning in 2025 and that credit unions may send the policy out with statements in whatever format members currently receive them.
For a sample policy, Maine credit unions have free access to CU PolicyPro. While the expulsion sample policy is not customized for Maine laws, it does provide a good starting point for boards and management.
Please feel free to reach out to Ellen Parent, Director of Compliance, with any questions, concerns, or follow up.