Maine has paid and unpaid family leave laws that provide pregnancy and parenting leave in addition to the FMLA. Learn which benefits and job protections you qualify for.
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If you work in Maine and you're expecting a new child, you have strong protections when it's time to take leave for pregnancy, childbirth, or parenting. The biggest is Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, which now pays eligible workers up to 12 weeks of benefits while they're off. Beyond that, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Maine's own family medical leave law guarantee unpaid, job-protected time off, and pregnancy discrimination laws can require your employer to accommodate you.
Which law helps you—and how much you'll be paid—depends on your employer's size, how long you've worked there, and your earnings. Read on to see how these laws work together and how much you can collect during your leave.
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave
Under Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, eligible employees can get up to 12 weeks of paid time off for pregnancy, childbirth, or bonding with a new child. (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 26, § 850-B.)
Who Can Get Paid Leave in Maine?
Most Maine employees qualify for PFML if they've earned enough during their base period and are taking leave for a qualifying reason — but certain groups are excluded.
Employee types. Maine's PFML program covers most employees, but the program doesn't cover:
- federal employees
- tribal government employees unless the tribal government has opted into the program
- students whose only work in Maine is through a federal work-study program
- self-employed individuals who haven’t opted into the program, and
- incarcerated individuals.
Earnings. To qualify for paid leave, you must also meet the program’s earnings requirements. To determine eligibility, the state looks at your base period earnings, the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your leave begins. Over that time, you must have earned at least six times the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW).
As of July 1, 2026, Maine's SAWW is $1,249.12. That means you must have earned at least $7,494.72 during your base period to qualify for paid leave benefits.
Qualifying reasons. You can receive PFML benefits only if you're taking leave for a qualifying reason, such as:
- your own serious health condition, including pregnancy complications and recovery from childbirth
- bonding with a new child after birth, foster placement, or adoption, or
- caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
How Much Paid Family and Medical Leave Can Mainers Take?
Eligible employees can get up to 12 weeks of paid leave each benefit year. Your benefit year begins the week your leave starts.
Those 12 weeks can be used for pregnancy-related medical leave, including recovery from childbirth, parenting leave to bond with your new child, or a combination of both. In most cases, your total PFML leave can't exceed 12 weeks during a single benefit year.
How Much Will Your PFML Benefit Be?
Your PFML benefit is a percentage of your average weekly wages, calculated on a sliding scale so that lower earners get a higher percentage of their pay replaced.
Your benefit amount will be based on your average earnings and the state’s average weekly wage (SAWW). You’ll receive 90% of your wages, up to 50% of the SAWW. Plus you'll get 66% of anything you earn over that amount, up to the maximum benefit amount (which is equal to the SAWW).
There’s a seven-day waiting period before benefits begin. You can use accrued paid time off to cover the waiting period (like sick leave or vacation pay). But your employer can’t require you to exhaust your accrued paid time off.
Your PFML benefit amount will typically be reduced if you're collecting certain other wage replacement benefits while you’re receiving paid family and medical leave benefits, including:
- state unemployment benefits
- workers' compensation (except benefits for partial incapacity from an injury that occurred before your PFML leave)
- government disability, such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or
- long-term disability (LTD) benefits through a current or former employer.
But your PFML benefits won’t be reduced by any of the following payments:
- partial salary your employer pays you to bridge the gap between your PFML benefit amount and your regular earnings
- PTO you collect to bridge the gap between your benefit amount and your usual wages, or
- your employer’s short-term disability insurance plan.
Maine PFML Job Protection While Taking Paid Leave
Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave program provides job protection for many employees, but not everyone who qualifies for paid leave is entitled to those protections. To qualify, you must have worked for your employer for at least 120 consecutive days (about 4 months) when your leave begins.
If you're covered, job protection means your employer must restore you to your job when your leave ends. Your employer can also place you in a different position, but only if it offers the same pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Whether or not you're entitled to job protection under Maine's PFML law, your employer can't retaliate against you for requesting or taking PFML leave.
Other Ways to Get Paid During Maternity or Parental Leave
If you need to take maternity or parental leave, but don’t qualify for Maine PFML benefits, you can use your accrued paid leave (like sick days, vacation, or PTO) to get paid during your time off. And your employer can actually require you to use it.
If you aren’t covered under the new paid leave program, you might still be able to get paid when you take time off for pregnancy, maternity, or parenting. Your employer might offer benefits like:
- paid maternity leave
- paid parental leave, or
- short-term disability insurance.
Talk to your HR representative or manager (and check your employee handbook) to find out what types of leave are available to you.
You also have the right to purchase private short-term disability insurance that covers pregnancy before you need it.
Maternity and Paternity Leave for Parenting in Maine
Both state and federal laws protect your job when you take leave to bond with your new child. The FMLA and Maine’s family leave laws provide time off when:
- your child is born
- you adopt a new child, or
- a foster child is placed in your home.
FMLA Parenting and Paternity Leave in Maine
The FMLA gives eligible employees the right to take parental leave as part of their 12-week leave entitlement. So, if you use 2 weeks of FMLA leave during your pregnancy, you’ll have 10 weeks left for parenting leave (within a year of your child’s birth).
Parenting Leave Under Maine’s Family Medical Leave Law
Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law allows you to take up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave each year when you welcome a new child into your home. For eligible employees, PFML leave is also job-protected leave.
Maine's Family Medical Leave Requirements Act (MFMLRA) also gives you the right to take job-protected parenting leave as part of your available 10 weeks off every two years. So again, if you use 2 weeks of leave during your pregnancy, you’ll have 8 weeks of parental leave available over the next two years.
Special Rules for Paternity Leave When Parents Work for the Same Employer
If you’re married to someone who works for the same company, your employer can require you and your spouse to share the 12 weeks of FMLA parental leave. But whatever portion of your own 12 weeks of FMLA leave you don't use for parenting will still be available to you for other reasons, including your own serious health condition.
This rule doesn't apply to leave taken under Maine's PFML law or the MFMLRA.
Part-Time Leave Under Maine's FMLRA and PFML
The FMLA allows employees to take their pregnancy leave intermittently if it's medically necessary. MFMLRA pregnancy leave works the same way.
So, if you have a prenatal check-up, you don't have to take a whole day off. Instead, you can use a couple of hours of your FMLA leave or MFMLRA leave and then go back to work.
The same is true for pregnancy-related ailments that don't last all day. If, for instance, you have morning sickness that lives up to its name, you might need a few hours off in the morning but be able to come to work by lunchtime.
But for parental leave, the rules are different. If you want to use your parenting leave under the FMLA or Maine’s FMLRA a little at a time—for example, by returning to work half-time for a while or by taking some of your leave when the baby is born and some at a later point—your employer must agree to it.
Under these unpaid leave laws, you aren't automatically entitled to use parental leave intermittently. And if you do, you must finish your time off within one year after the baby is born.
Both pregnancy and parenting leave can be taken intermittently under Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave law. By default, you can take intermittent PFML leave in increments of one workday. But if your employer agrees, you can take leave in smaller increments—as little as one hour.
Learn more about Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, including eligibility and how to apply for benefits.
Maine Maternity Leave Job Protections
In addition to the job protection provided by Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave program, other types of laws can protect your job when you need to take pregnancy and maternity leave, including:
- laws that provide for pregnancy leave, and
- laws that prohibit pregnancy discrimination.
Job Protections for Family and Medical Leave in Maine
Although Maine's Paid Family and Medical Leave program is now the state's primary leave law, two other laws also provide job-protected leave for pregnancy and childbirth. Each has different eligibility requirements, and neither provides wage replacement benefits.
FMLA. The federal FMLA gives eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a one-year period for pregnancy and childbirth—including prenatal care such as routine checkups and doctor visits. But the FMLA applies only to employers with at least 50 employees. (29 U.S.C. 2601, et seq.)
You’re eligible to use FMLA leave if both of the following are true:
- You’ve worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months.
- You’ve worked for your employer for at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months immediately preceding your leave.
The FMLA requires your employer to make your job (or an equivalent one) available for you when you return, but the FMLA doesn't offer any wage benefits.
Maine PFML. Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave runs concurrently with FMLA leave. That means if you qualify for both, you generally use them at the same time—you can't take 12 weeks of PFML leave and then another 12 weeks of FMLA leave for the same reason.
(Learn more about the FMLA, including eligibility requirements, in our article on FMLA leave for pregnancy and disability.)
MFMLRA. Maine has its own family medical leave law called the Maine Family Medical Leave Requirements Act (MFMLRA). It’s similar to the FMLA in that it allows employees to take job-protected time off for pregnancy. But there are some important differences between the two laws.
More employees qualify for leave under the MFMLRA than under the FMLA, but the state law provides less leave. (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 26 §§ 841-849.) Under the MFMLRA:
- employers with at least 15 employees are covered
- employees qualify after working for the employer for at least 12 consecutive months
- there's no minimum hours-worked requirement, so both full-time and part-time employees can qualify, and
- eligible employees can take up to 10 weeks of leave during a 2-year period.
Pregnancy Discrimination Laws in Maine
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is a federal law that protects the rights of pregnant workers. The PWFA covers private and public sector employers with at least 15 employees. The law requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” if you need them due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, and that can include time off work. (Learn about your rights to time off as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.)
The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act doesn’t require employers to give pregnant employees time off. But when you can’t work due to pregnancy, the law does require employers to treat you the same as employees who are temporarily disabled for other reasons. So if your company lets employees take time off for other temporary disabilities, like a broken leg or a long illness, then you must be allowed to take time off when you can’t work because of your pregnancy.
Maine's Fair Employment Practices Act has similar provisions prohibiting pregnancy discrimination. (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 5, § 4572-A.) The state law doesn’t require employers to allow all pregnant employees to take time off—just that they be treated the same as other employees. So if your employer provides leave to other employees who are temporarily unable to work, the same leave must be made available to you when you can’t work due to pregnancy.
