Maine: Paid Sick Leave Requirements

Maine requires earned paid leave usable for any reason

Maine's law is broader than a traditional sick-leave statute. A covered
employee earns paid time that may be used for any reason, including illness,
an emergency, family care, a planned vacation, or another personal reason. The
employee does not need to fit the absence into a medical or family definition.

The mandate applies when an employer has more than 10 employees in the usual
and regular course of business for more than 120 calendar days in a year.
Full-time, part-time, temporary, and per-diem employees are included. Employment
in an industry formally treated as seasonal under Maine's unemployment law is
excluded.

Accrual, waiting period, and carryover

Accrual begins on the first day of work at one hour for every 40 hours worked.
The statutory annual floor is 40 hours in a year of employment, or a higher
accrual limit if the employer's policy promises one. For an exempt employee,
the rule presumes 40 hours worked each week unless another time record exists.

An employer may require an employee to complete 120 calendar days of employment
during a one-year period before using the accrued balance. The employer may
also frontload leave instead of waiting for hour-by-hour accrual.

Unused accrued hours carry into the immediately following year. A 2025
amendment fixed an important interaction: carried hours may not reduce the
employee's right to earn up to 40 new hours in that next year, or the higher
accrual limit in the employer's policy. MDOL also states that an employer may
not restrict how many accrued and available hours the employee uses during the
year.

The current posted Chapter 18 rule still contains older language suggesting a
40-hour current-year availability/accrual ceiling. The later amended statute
controls, and MDOL's current guidance reflects the new rule.

Requests, notice, and scheduling

For a foreseeable reason other than an emergency, illness, or sudden necessity,
a written employer policy may require up to four weeks' notice. The employer
may place reasonable scheduling limits on that foreseeable use to prevent an
undue hardship—defined by the rule as a significant operational impact or
expense considering the employer's resources, workforce size, and industry.

For an emergency, illness, or sudden necessity, advance notice may be
impossible. The employee must make a good-faith effort to give as much notice
as is feasible, or notify the employer as soon as practicable.

An employer may set a one-hour minimum increment but may allow smaller units.
It cannot require an employee to spend EPL when the employer itself makes work
unavailable, such as by closing the business or cancelling a shift.

Because leave is available for any reason, the statute and rule do not impose a
medical-certificate requirement or require the employee to identify a covered
relative. An employer still may enforce the allowed notice and scheduling
rules.

Pay, separation, and rehire

The employee must receive at least the same base rate paid immediately before
leave and the same benefits provided under the employer's other paid-leave
policies. The rule ties base rate to Maine's regular-rate calculation using the
week immediately before the leave. Taking EPL cannot erase preleave benefits or
change health-insurance terms compared with similarly situated employees.

Unused EPL is not automatically payable at separation. It becomes wages at
separation only when the employment terms or established practice provide a
payout. If no payout occurs and the employee returns to the same employer
within one year, the unused balance must be restored. If the employer let the
employee use leave before it accrued, MDOL says the unaccrued amount may be
withheld from final pay.

Enforcement and local preemption

The Bureau of Labor Standards has exclusive statutory enforcement authority,
although parties to a collective bargaining agreement may also use their
contractual dispute process. Penalties are those supplied by 26 M.R.S. § 53,
and the rule treats each denied leave instance for each affected employee as a
separate violation.

Maine expressly preempts local earned-paid-leave ordinances. A municipality or
other political subdivision may not enact its own rule regulating earned paid
leave. Employers may still provide more generous benefits, and a general PTO
policy can satisfy the law if it preserves the statutory accrual, carryover,
use, pay, notice, and protection rules.

Common questions

How many employees trigger Maine earned paid leave?

More than 10 employees in the usual and regular course of business for more
than 120 calendar days in a calendar year.

Is Maine leave limited to sickness or family care?

No. An employee may use accrued EPL for any reason, including a planned
vacation or another personal need.

Can carried leave reduce next year's accrual?

No. Under the current statute, carried hours cannot reduce the right to earn up
to 40 new hours in the next year or the higher accrual limit in the employer's
policy.

Can an employer require four weeks' notice?

Only through a written policy and only for leave that is not for an emergency,
illness, or sudden necessity. Sudden leave requires as much notice as feasible
under the circumstances.

Must unused EPL be paid when employment ends?

Only if the employer's terms or established practice provide a payout. If the
balance is not paid and the employee returns within one year, it must be
restored.

Statutes and sources

• 26 M.R.S. § 637(1)-(3), § 637(4)-(6), and § 637(7)-(11). Establish
  coverage, one-per-40 accrual, 120-day use waiting period, carryover without
  reduced new accrual, pay, notice, benefits, enforcement, penalties,
  preemption, and the grandfathered CBA exception. Maine
  Legislature
  (accessed July 23, 2026).
• 12-170 C.M.R. ch. 18, §§ II-III and §§ V-VI. Supplies exempt-worker,
  year, rate, notice, increment, closure, rehire, and separate-violation rules.
  Maine Secretary of
  State
  (accessed July 23, 2026; superseded where inconsistent with PL 2025, c. 438).
• Maine Department of Labor Earned Paid Leave guidance. Confirms any-reason
  use, all-hours carryover, no annual restriction on use of the available
  balance, frontloading, posting, and recovery of advanced unaccrued leave.
  Maine Department of
  Labor (accessed July
  23, 2026).