AUGUSTA, Maine — A coalition of progressive groups are trying to get a sweeping paid family and medical leave referendum on Maine’s 2023 ballot.
The measure would make Maine the 11th state to enshrine a full paid-leave program. The signature drive is designed in part to put pressure on the Legislature that will be elected in November to address the issue, similar to an effort that preceded a 2019 paid-leave compromise from Gov. Janet Mills and business interests came out of a wider push.
That law guaranteed at least 40 hours of paid leave per year for any reason to an estimated 85 percent of Maine’s workforce. The new effort would allow Maine workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave at a time or 16 weeks per year for circumstances including a child’s birth, recovery from health conditions and taking care of family members.
The program would begin in July 2026, but it would be funded by a new tax on wages that kicks in a year earlier. At businesses with 15 or more employees, employers and workers would each have to pay 0.43 percent of wages into a fund, adding up to a 0.86 percent tax in all to pay for the costs of the program at first.
That would add up to roughly $430 per year for a worker making $50,000. Businesses with fewer than 15 employees would not pay the employer portion, while self-employed Mainers would only pay the employee portion.
The drive is being led by the progressive Maine People’s Alliance and the Maine Women’s Lobby. The alliance’s 2018 threat of...
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