Three new Maine employment laws going into effect

It’s the time of year when Maine employers have to get up to speed on the new laws taking effect. This year, there are three employment laws you should pay attention to.

Earned paid leave law

Effective September 24, 2025, the earned paid leave law is amended as follows:

• Employees are entitled to roll over up to 40 hours of accrued but unused earned paid leave (EPL) from the year in which it was earned into the following year of employment.
• The amount of paid leave the employee is entitled to accrue in that following year of employment (up to the higher of 40 hours or the accrual limit specified by the employer if higher) may not be reduced by the amount of the rolled over EPL. For most employers, an employee’s EPL balance could reach 80 hours (40 rolled over hours plus the new 40-hour accrual).

Before this change in the law, guidance published by the Maine Department of Labor had indicated that employers were not required to allow roll over of EPL that was front-loaded to the employee, and EPL earned in a future year could be reduced by the amount of any EPL permitted to be rolled over from the prior year.

We recommend that you review your current EPL policy and adopt this change in the rollover requirements.

Paid family and medical leave law

Effective September 24, 2025, the new paid family and medical leave (PFML) law is amended with respect to intermittent leave.