AUGUSTA - Gov. Janet Mills recently signed into law LD 912, a proposal to extend family medical leave to hourly school employees, sponsored by Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor.
Under the new law, which goes into effect 90 days after the current legislative session adjourns, hourly school employees, including bus drivers, ed techs, school secretaries and cafeteria staff, who have worked at least 900 hours in the previous 12-month period are eligible for family medical leave, akin to their full-time colleagues.
"Too often, our hourly wage workforce does not receive the same, or even similar, benefits as their salaried colleagues," said Roeder. "Hourly school employees work tirelessly to support our children and they too deserve the time off they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones. I am glad that they will soon be able to access family medical leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act."
Roeder is serving her first term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Legislature's Labor and Housing Committee.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Roeder], c. 812-1111