Maine Joins 13 States in Offering Paid Family and Medical Leave

The United States is ahead of the game on many things, but paid family leave isn’t one of them. According to the New York Times, the US is one of just six countries and the only “rich country” with no national paid family and medical leave. While efforts to secure this needed legislation on a national level have stalled, several states have slowly mandated their own policies that require employers to provide paid leave.

Maine is the latest state to hop on the bandwagon and the thirteenth (plus Washington DC) to draft and enact its own paid family and medical leave laws. Signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on July 10, L.D. 1964 provides up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year to all eligible employees in the private and public sector. While 12 weeks is quite a bit shy of the 29-week average offered among 186 other countries, it does prove to be a valuable addition and one of the longest paid leave time periods in the US.

Employees can use paid family and medical leave for a variety of reasons. From caring for a family member with a serious health condition to giving birth to a child. To pay for this new program, the state will impose a 1 percent payroll tax, split evenly between the employer and employee.

Maine will begin assessing the 1 percent payroll tax in 2025, and employees will be able to start taking paid family and medical leave by 2026. While many have applauded Maine’s forward-thinking when it comes to providing parents the resources they need, others aren’t so happy about the disappearance of their tax dollars.

Beyond the politics and numbers, studies show paid family and medical leave has a real impact on babies and their families. Recently researchers at Tulane University found that just three months of federally mandated paid parental leave could save the lives of nearly 1,000 babies each year. Paid family and medical leave also often means the difference between going into debt or saving up for baby’s education and flourishing upon your return to work or struggling to keep your head above water.

You can see if your state is one of the 13 with paid family and medical leave and where it ranks in terms of benefits here.