Pine State News

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is requesting the Maine Department of Labor to initiate a special comment period before finalizing rules for the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law. According to existing Maine law, an additional comment period is mandatory if an agency finds that the rule it plans to adopt differs significantly from the proposed version. However, agencies have discretion in determining what constitutes "substantially different," and they can restrict comments to specific provisions they identify.

NFIB emphasizes that due to the complexity of the PFML law and its anticipated regulations, there should be further public commentary on all rules before their finalization. The organization pointed out that there might be misunderstandings regarding certain comments or changes in some provisions that could introduce new concerns needing clarification.

Approximately 300 public comments were submitted on the proposed rules by July 8, including those from NFIB. Officials from the labor department have expressed a goal to issue final rules by October 1.

The tax on employee earnings under this new regulation will commence on January 1, 2025, with paid leave benefits starting on May 1, 2026.