Global Courant
The Maine House voted Thursday to give workers up to 12 weeks of paid time off to deal with illness, care for a family member or the birth of a child by partnering with other New England states to create a paid family medical leave program.
The vote of 79 to 65 followed a party-line vote the day before in the Senate, putting the bill on track for passage in the Democratic-controlled legislature. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is reviewing recent changes to the bill.
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“Maine is currently the only state in New England that does not offer any form of (paid family medical leave). Now we have taken another important step closer to joining them,” said Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, who sponsored the bill with Senator Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick.
A proposal to create a state sick leave fund in Maine has passed both chambers of the state legislature.
The proposal, to be funded through a payroll tax split between employees and employers and capped at 1% of wages, would allow up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for qualifying circumstances, such as childbirth or adoption of a child, an employee’s serious illness, care for a sick family member or transition from military deployment.
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The original cost of implementing the bill was estimated at $71 million, according to legislative documents, but the figure for the amended bill is $12 million for startup and $14 million for year one.
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Businesses with fewer than 15 employees would be exempt and employees would have to be employed for 120 days to qualify. The exact premium percentage has yet to be determined; lost wages would be replaced at a graduated rate.
