Maine Family Medical Leave Act: Unpaid Rights and Paid Benefits

The Maine Family Medical Leave Act gives eligible workers up to 10 weeks of unpaid, job-protected time off in any two-year period to handle a serious health condition, welcome a new child, care for a sick family member, donate an organ, or respond to the death or serious injury of a military family member. The law sits at 26 M.R.S. § 843 through § 846 and covers more workers than federal FMLA because it has no minimum-hours requirement. Separately, Maine’s paid family and medical leave program began paying benefits on May 1, 2026, offering up to 12 weeks of partial wage replacement funded by payroll contributions that started in January 2025.

Who Qualifies for Unpaid Leave

The unpaid leave law applies to any private employer with 15 or more employees at a single worksite in Maine, and to state and local government employers under the same 15-employee threshold.¹

You qualify once you have worked for the same employer for 12 consecutive months. Maine does not require a minimum number of hours during that year, so a part-time worker with a full year of tenure has the same leave rights as a full-time colleague.²

There is one carve-out. Employees of school administrative units qualify under federal FMLA terms instead if they worked at least 900 hours in the previous 12-month period.²

Reasons You Can Take Leave

Maine’s unpaid law protects time off for several categories of life events:

The birth of your child, or the adoption of a child age 16 or younger, taken by either parent.
Your own serious health condition that prevents you from performing your job.
Care for a sick spouse, domestic partner, child, your domestic partner’s child, parent, or a sibling who lives with you.
Donating an organ for transplant.
The death or serious injury of a family member serving in the state or federal military.

The family-member list is narrower than many workers expect. A sibling only counts if they live with you. Grandchildren and in-laws are not covered relatives under the unpaid leave law.

How Much Time You Get and Whether You Can Split It

Eligible workers get up to 10 weeks of unpaid family medical leave in any two-year period. The time is unpaid unless your employer voluntarily provides wage replacement or you choose to use accrued paid time off.²

You do not have to take the 10 weeks in one block. When the reason is medical, whether that is your own condition, a family member’s illness, or organ donation, you can take leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule as long as the intermittent use is medically necessary. For bonding after birth or adoption, intermittent leave is available only if you and your employer agree to it in writing. Only the hours you actually miss count against your 10-week total.

Getting Your Job Back

When your leave ends, your employer must restore you to the same position or to a role with equivalent pay, benefits, seniority, and working conditions.³ The narrow exception is when the employer can prove the position was eliminated or changed for reasons entirely unrelated to your leave. Taking leave itself cannot be a factor in any employment decision.

Your employer must also keep your health insurance in force during the leave on the same terms as if you were still at work. You remain responsible for your share of the premiums.

Notice and Medical Certification

For foreseeable leave, such as a planned surgery, an expected birth, or a scheduled adoption, you must give your employer at least 30 days’ notice of the start and expected end dates.² Your request should identify the qualifying reason.

When the leave is for a serious health condition, your employer can require medical certification from a licensed healthcare provider confirming the condition and its expected duration. Incomplete paperwork is one of the most common causes of delay, so have your provider fill in every section.

If a medical emergency makes 30 days’ notice impossible, tell your employer as soon as you reasonably can. The question is whether you gave notice at the earliest practical opportunity, not whether you hit the 30-day window.

Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Maine’s paid program, at 26 M.R.S. § 850-A through § 850-J, began paying benefits for leave taken on or after May 1, 2026. Payroll contributions started January 1, 2025.⁴

Who Is Covered

The paid program reaches nearly every employer with at least one employee in Maine, not just those with 15 or more workers. To draw benefits, you must have earned at least six times the state average weekly wage during your base period, roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim.⁵ For the initial benefit period, that earnings threshold is approximately $7,188.⁶ Self-employed workers can opt in voluntarily at a reduced premium rate.

What You and Your Employer Pay

From 2025 through 2027, the contribution rate depends on employer size. Employers with 15 or more employees contribute 1% of wages and may pass up to half of that cost to workers through payroll deductions. Employers with fewer than 15 employees contribute 0.5% of wages and may deduct the entire amount from workers’ paychecks. Employers can choose to absorb the employee share.⁶

Qualifying Reasons and Duration

The paid program covers the same reasons as the unpaid law and adds several more:⁷

Bonding with a new child within 12 months of birth, adoption, or foster placement.
Your own serious health condition that keeps you from working.
Care for a family member with a serious health condition, including an injured service member.
Military qualifying exigencies tied to a family member’s active-duty deployment.
Safe leave when you or a family member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, for purposes such as getting a protection order, attending counseling, securing housing, or pursuing legal action.

You can take up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave combined in a single benefit year. If you take medical leave during pregnancy or childbirth recovery, you can follow it immediately with family leave for bonding, and that medical time does not count against your 12-week family leave cap.⁷

How Much the Benefit Pays

The program replaces wages on a tiered formula: 90% of earnings up to half the state average weekly wage, and 66% of earnings above that threshold. Benefits are capped at the state average weekly wage, which is $1,199 per week for the period through June 30, 2026.⁸ Because of the tiered structure, lower earners receive a higher share of their normal pay than higher earners.

How the Unpaid and Paid Laws Fit Together

The unpaid Maine FMLA, federal FMLA, and the new paid program are separate laws. When you qualify for more than one at the same time, they generally run concurrently, meaning the clock ticks on all applicable leaves at once. You cannot stack 10 weeks of unpaid state leave, 12 weeks of federal FMLA, and 12 weeks of paid leave back-to-back.

Eligibility differs across the three, though. The unpaid Maine law requires 12 months at a worksite of 15 or more. The paid program covers nearly all employers and uses an earnings test. A worker who qualifies only for the paid program could take 12 weeks of paid leave without any concurrent unpaid leave running alongside it.

If Your Employer Violates the Law

If your employer denies leave you are entitled to, retaliates against you for taking it, or fails to restore your job when you return, you can file a complaint with the Maine Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which provides an online complaint form.⁹ The statute also provides for restoration and other relief when an employer violates the leave law.³ If the department cannot resolve the issue informally, an employment attorney can advise on your options.

1
Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 26-843 – Definitions
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Maine Legislature. Maine Code 26-844 – Family Medical Leave Requirement
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Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 26-845 – Employee Benefits Protection
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Maine Department of Labor. Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave
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Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 26-850-A – Definitions
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Maine Department of Labor. Paid Family and Medical Leave Frequently Asked Questions
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Maine State Legislature. Maine Code 26-850-B – Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program
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Maine Department of Labor. Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Webinar
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Maine Department of Labor. Wage and Hour Complaint Portal