Dedicated legislators on the Labor Committee worked into the night on April 23 to hear testimony on more than a dozen bills to repeal or make changes in the controversial Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) law that began collecting payroll taxes January 2025 and will begin approving up to 12 weeks of paid leave in May or August 2026.

NFIB said members were opposed to the sweeping law and would prefer that it be repealed.  Maine is one of only 14 states to date with a comprehensive mandatory PFML law that applies to all employers regardless of size (from 1 to many employees).  NFIB also advised that the law, if not repealed, needs to be made more practical for the thousands of small businesses in Maine.

“Let small businesses manage their workplaces,” said NFIB.  “Maintaining stability is made more difficult, if not impossible, when laws and regulations impose micro-management requirements on small workplaces – and regulators are tasked with making decisions about daily staffing operations that are best made by the person who is most responsible for the workplace: the small business owner.

“If there is to be a PFML law,” NFIB said, “it needs to operate in a way that minimizes the burden on small employers and accommodates the uniqueness of small workplaces.”

NFIB pointed to various provisions of LD 1333 (Rep. Poirier) and LD 1712 (Rep. Roberts) that improve the practicality of the PFML program as it concerns small employers.

NFIB opposed legislation (LD 575) that would take away the right of small employers to have workers schedule leave at a time that does not impose “undue hardship” on the business, if an employee has discretion over the timing of leave.  Paid leave advocates oppose this protection for small employers.

The Maine Department of Labor testified in support of its bill to make technical changes (LD 894) and opposed all other changes including those sought by various business associations.

A committee work session in early May will begin sorting through the bills and determining what action to recommend going forward.  Committee members may split along party lines but lobbyists for business groups hope to gain bipartisan support from legislators when PFML bills are sent to the Senate and House floors for action.

NFIB asked legislators to be mindful of all who depend on the success of small businesses: “If Paid Family and Medical Leave law and rules do not work for thousands of Maine small businesses, they will not work for Maine families or our economic vitality!”