General Earned Paid Leave FAQ's

Answer: If you work for an employer who has more than 10 employees in Maine and you are not under a collective bargaining agreement as of 1/1/2021, you may be eligible for this benefit.

Earned Paid Leave coverage can be determined using the following:

Question #1: Is the business an employer as defined under 26 M.R.S. § 1043, 9?

    If no – Earned Paid Leave will not apply
    If yes go to question 2

Question #2: Does the business employ more than 10 employees in Maine for more than 120 days (Total days, not consecutive days) in any calendar year?

    If no – Earned Paid Leave will not apply
    If yes go to question 3

Question #3: Is the work provided by the worker considered employment as defined under 26 M.R.S. § 1043, 11? 

    If no – Earned Paid Leave will not apply
    If yes go to question 4

Question#4: Is the employment included in a seasonal industry as defined in 26 M.R.S. § 1251?

    If no – Earned Paid Leave will apply
    If yes – go to question 5

Question#5: Did the employer (excluding a predefined seasonal business) submit the required report to the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation?

    If no – Earned Paid Leave will apply
    If yes – go to question 6

Question#6: Is the work performed only within that seasonal period?

    If no – Earned Paid Leave will apply
    If yes – Earned Paid Leave will not apply

Answer: As a general rule, yes. The exceptions to “employer” and “employment” in the Employment Security Act also apply to coverage for Earned Paid Leave.  Therefore, if you list an employee on your quarterly report to the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, that employee is covered by Earned Paid Leave.  The only exception is seasonal employees. (See the next question on seasonal employees.)

As a general matter, if the employer reports more than 10 employees in its quarterly report to the Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, then those employees are covered by Earned Paid Leave.

Answer:  Yes, as long as they otherwise meet the definition of a covered employee.

Answer: Contact the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation at 207-621-5120. They will investigate whether, under 26 M.R.S. § 1043(11)(E), you are exempted from the definition of employment.  If you are not exempted, your employer will be responsible for paying unemployment taxes for the back quarters for which you were working in “employment.”

After BUC completes its investigation, it will report the results to the Bureau of Labor Standards (BLS).  If the BUC finds that you are an employee and not an independent contractor, the BLS will inform your employer that you are entitled to Earned Paid Leave and that the employer is subject to penalties if it fails to comply.  BUC also has the discretion to assess a penalty against the employer for misclassification pursuant to 26 M.R.S. § 591-A.

Answer: If a worker is a covered employee for unemployment insurance purposes, that worker is covered by Earned Paid Leave. As a general matter, high school and college students are considered covered employees for unemployment purposes, and therefore, students are covered by Earned Paid Leave. 

The exceptions are students who are working in the following type of services (who are not covered by unemployment insurance and will not be eligible for Earned Paid Leave):

Service performed by students participating in a cooperative program of education and occupational training or on-the-job training that is part of the school curriculum; 

Service performed as a student nurse in the employ of a hospital or a nurses' training school by an individual who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes in a nurses' training school chartered or approved pursuant to state law and service performed as an intern in the employ of a hospital by an individual who has completed a 4-year course in a medical school chartered or approved pursuant to state law;

Service performed in the employ of a school, college, or university if that service is performed by a student who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes at such a school, college or university; or 

Service performed by a full-time student employed by certain seasonal youth camps.

Answer:  Generally, yes. While these workers often do not earn enough money to be eligible for unemployment benefits, a worker is covered by Earned Paid Leave as long as the worker is a covered employee under Maine’s unemployment law.  High school and college students are covered employees under unemployment law, with limited exceptions, such as work-study students.

Answer:  Potentially, yes.  Part-time and temporary workers are covered by Earned Paid Leave.  Workers begin to accrue Earned Paid Leave at the start of employment and earn one hour of Earned Paid Leave for every 40 hours worked.  However, an employer is not required to permit the use of leave before an employee has been employed by that employer for 120 days in any calendar year.

Answer: Not if otherwise eligible as explained above.

Answer: Not if otherwise eligible as explained above.

Answer: Not if otherwise eligible as explained previously.

Answer:  No. The Earned Paid Leave Law specifies that employment for purposes of Earned Paid Leave has the same meaning as employment in the Employment Security Act, 26 M.R.S. § 1043(11). 

The Department of Labor does not have the legal authority to exempt groups of workers or employers who are covered by the law.  Only the legislature may make changes as to the coverage of the law.

Please see our separate FAQs with additional information specific to schools and municipalities.

Answer: Yes. Until the collective bargaining agreement term ends, the contract takes precedent. New contracts negotiated after 1/1/2021 must include Earned Paid Leave as a benefit going forward.

Answer:  The Earned Paid Leave Law specifies that employment for purposes of Earned Paid Leave has the same meaning as employment in the Employment Security Act, 26 M.R.S. § 1043(11).  The Employment Security Act does not exclude non-citizens from coverage. However, H-2A workers are exempt under this statute.

For purposes of the Earned Paid Leave law, if the work performed by non-citizens is considered covered employment, according to the Employment Security Act, then non-citizens will be entitled to Earned Paid Leave.

The Bureau of Labor Standards does not take into account a worker’s immigration status when it comes to worker protections and rights under labor laws.

See USCIS’s web site at https://www.uscis.gov for more information on work authorization.

Answer: The Earned Paid Leave Law specifies that individuals covered by the Employment Security Act are eligible for Earned Paid Leave. Specifically, 26 M.R.S. § 1043(11)(A-2) sets forth the circumstances in which employers of agricultural laborers must pay unemployment taxes, including when the employer pays wages of more than $20,000 for agricultural labor or when 10 or more individuals are employed in agricultural labor during 20 calendar weeks.

The same coverage extends to agricultural workers under the Earned Paid Leave law.  Please note that “agricultural labor,” is defined by 26 M.R.S. § 1043(1).

Answer: The Earned Paid Leave Law specifies that individuals covered by the Employment Security Act are eligible for Earned Paid Leave. Specifically, 26 M.R.S. § 1043(11)(A-3) specifies that domestic service in a private home, local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority performed for a person who paid wages of more than $1,000 in a calendar year is employed covered by the Employment Security Act. Such domestic service is therefore also covered by the Earned Paid Leave Law.

Answer: If the employer has more than 10 employees across every location in Maine, they are required to provide this benefit.

Answer:  Probably not, but you need to be aware of the nuances. If you have questions, contact the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation at 207-621-5120.  If none of the employee’s service is performed in Maine but is deemed employment under the unemployment compensation law of another state, then that employee is not covered by Maine’s Earned Paid Leave Law.

For example, if 10 employees work exclusively in Maine and 10 employees work exclusively in New Hampshire and the 10 New Hampshire employees are covered by New Hampshire’s unemployment law, then the employer is not a covered employer under Maine’s Earned Paid Leave Law. In this situation, the employer is not required to provide their Maine employees with paid leave under the Earned Paid Leave Law.

If work is performed in multiple states, the analysis is more complicated.  Employees are covered if they are within the definition of employment under Maine’s unemployment law which includes employment localized in Maine.  26 M.R.S. § 1043(11)(A). 

An employee is covered under the following circumstances:

The service is not localized in any state but some of the service is performed in Maine and the base of operations is in Maine;

The service is not localized in any state but some of the service is performed in Maine, there is no base of operations, and the service is directed or controlled in Maine;

The service is not localized in any state but some of the service is performed in Maine, there is no base of operations, and the place from which the service is directed or controlled is not in any state in which some part of the service is controlled, but the individual's residence is in Maine.

Answer:  Yes. Rule section II.E. specifies that covered employees include those who work full-time, part-time, and per diem.