A Guide for Maine Workers and Their Families:
Time off from work--what are my rights

Guide Contents

Contents of this page
1.1 Maine Family Sick Leave
1.2 Family and Medical Leave in Maine
1.3 Leave of absence under the Maine Human Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act
1.4 Maine Employment Leave for Victims of Violence
1.5 Military Service and other leaves

• Family Sick Leave. This state law allows some Maine workers to use a portion of the paid leave time they have earned in order to care for their child, spouse, or parent who is ill. Read more.


• The Family and Medical Leave Acts (state and federal) give certain workers the right to unpaid time off from work for the birth or adoption of a child, their own illness, or the illness of an immediate family member. Read more.


• Employment Leave for Victims of Violence. This state law gives victims of violence, assault, sexual assault or similar crimes the right to take unpaid time off from work in some cases to prepare for court, receive medical treatment or other services related to the crime. Read more.

1.1 Maine Family Sick Leave

What is Family Sick Leave?

This Maine law gives you the right to use up to 40 hours a year of your paid sick time, vacation time, or compensatory (“comp”) time to care for a sick child, parent, or spouse, if:

• You work for an employer (public or private) with 25 or more employees, ; and
• Your employer provides paid sick, vacation, and/or comp time; and
• You have already “earned” the amount of leave that you want to take (up to 40 hours).

Do I have the choice of which kind of leave (sick, vacation, or comp time) to use?

It depends. If you have more than one kind of paid leave, then you can choose how much of each to use, unless your employer has a policy that says you must use your leave time in a certain order. For example, your employer could require you to use your vacation time first, instead of your sick time, to care for your family member. But, if you don’t have 40 hours of earned vacation time, you must still be allowed to take a full 40 hours if you have earned enough other kinds of paid leave to make up the difference. In order to limit your choice like this, your employer must apply the same rule to everyone in the workplace, including those in management.

Your employer may require a doctor’s note verifying that your family member is sick. However, the employer cannot require a doctor’s note unless it is also required for employees who take sick leave for their own illness.

Who can help if my employer:

• Refuses to let me use my sick, vacation, or comp time to take care of my family?
• Threatens to fire or otherwise punish me for requesting this leave?

Call the Maine Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division:
Voice: (207) 624-6400
TTY: 1 (800) 794-1110

They have the authority to enforce Maine’s Family Sick Leave.

For more information:

Read Maine’s Family Sick Leave law, 26 MRSA Section 636.

1.2 Family and Medical Leave in Maine

What is Family and Medical Leave?

There are two Family and Medical Leave laws that affect Maine workers—a state law and a federal law. They both give certain workers the right to take time off from work because of a serious health condition (yours or a family member’s) or the birth or adoption of a child. Neither of these laws requires that you be paid during the leave, unless you use benefits you have earned (like sick or vacation time) for some or all of your leave.

In general, the Maine law covers more people, but the federal law gives better coverage, if it applies to you. When there is a difference between the state and federal law, you can use the one that is more generous, as long as you qualify under that law. But, you can’t add your state and federal leave time together to take the maximum amount of time under both laws. Any leave time you take under one law is offset against the other.

This chart shows some of the important differences between the state and federal laws:

*Your health care provider must see you and start treatment within 7 days of when your incapacity began and must see you a second time within 30 days of when it began, unless circumstances beyond your control make this impossible.

**For chronic conditions, you must visit your health care provider at least twice a year. The 7- and 30-day requirements do not apply.

The chart above shows the differences between the state and federal law. The information below is the same for both laws.

Do I need to take all my leave time at once?

You can take family and medical leave for your own or a family member’s serious health condition all at once, or you can spread it out over time if that is what the medical condition requires. Even taking part of a single day off can count as family medical leave, if it is necessary for the treatment of a serious health condition. For example, if you have diabetes or depression, you may be able to take leave for periodic appointments or counseling sessions for continuing treatment necessary to manage this disease. Leave for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child must be taken all at once, unless the employer agrees to spread out the leave.

What do I have to do to take a leave?

If possible, you must tell your employer 30 days in advance that you will need the leave. If you cannot do this, then you must inform your employer as soon as possible under the circumstances. If there is an emergency, this may mean that you can only inform your employer after the fact.

What medical information will I need to provide to my employer?

Your employer can ask for a signed statement from your health care provider or your family member’s health care provider that verifies that you or a member of your family has a serious health condition and the amount of leave time you need.

Is my job protected if I take Family Medical Leave?

If you request or take a leave that is allowed by law, your employer cannot:

• Fire you for requesting or taking a leave;
• Refuse to give you back your job when you return (if your position has been filled, you must be given a job like it). There is a limited exception to this rule if your employer can show that other things have changed since you left
• Deny your leave request
• Penalize or harass you for requesting or taking a leave.

What if my employer violates the state or federal law?

Talk to a lawyer. Your lawyer can go to court and ask that your employer give you your leave, pay you anything you are owed, pay a fine, and pay for your lawyer’s fees and court costs, too.

If you qualify for a leave under the federal law, you can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: 1 (886) 487-9243 or TTY 1 (877) 889-5627.

For violations of the state law, you can file a complaint with the Maine Department of Labor: 207-623-7900 TTY 1-800-794-1110. They may be willing to contact your employer and advocate for a favorable outcome. However, if this doesn’t bring the results you are looking for, your next step would be to go to court.

How long do I have to file a complaint for violation of the state or federal Family and Medical Leave law?

If you are claiming a violation of the federal law, you must file your complaint within 2 years of the date of the violation, or 3 years from the date of an employer’s willful violation of the law. You may have a longer time to make a claim under the state law, but you should always get legal advice as soon as possible after you become aware of the violation.

For more information:

Visit the Pine Tree Legal Assistance website

Visit the federal Department of Labor website

Read the Maine Family Medical Leave Act, 26 MRSA Section 843

1.3 Leave of Absence Under the Maine Human Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act

If I don’t qualify for family medical leave, but I have a disability, am I entitled to leave under these anti-discrimination laws?

Both the Maine Human Rights Act and the ADA require employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with disabilities. Under some circumstances, leave may be a “reasonable accommodation.” If you need short periods of time off to obtain medical treatment, recover from a disability, or other disability-related reasons, your employer must let you use paid or unpaid leave unless your time off creates a hardship. If you need a longer leave of absence because of a disability, your employer must give you the time off, and return you to your job, unless holding open the position would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

1.4 Maine Employment Leave for Victims of Violence

I’m a victim of violence, or a member of my family is, and I need time off from my job: What are my rights?

Any Maine worker who is a victim of violence, or the child, parent, or spouse of a victim, must be allowed necessary and reasonable time off from work to:

• Prepare for or attend court proceedings related to the violence;
• Receive medical treatment or be with a child, parent, or spouse receiving treatment for violence; or
• Obtain necessary services to deal with the crisis.

“Violence” means any kind of violence, including domestic violence, assault, sexual assault, stalking, and certain kinds of threats, abuse, or harassment.

Will I be paid for this leave?

The law does not require your employer to pay you for this leave, but your employer may choose to do so.

Can my employer refuse to provide this leave?

Employers can refuse to provide this leave, but only if:

• The employer can show that he or she would suffer undue hardship from your absence;
• You did not give the employer reasonable notice of the leave under the circumstances; or
• The leave is impractical, unnecessary or unreasonable, based on facts you told your employer.

Who should I call if my employer refuses to give me this leave time?

Call the Maine Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division:
Voice: (207) 624-6400
TTY: 1 (800) 794-1110

For more information:

Read the Employment Leave for Victims of Violence law in the Maine Revised Statutes, 26 MRSA Section 850

Read the rules for the Maine Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Standards (12 170, Chapter 10)

1.5 Military Service and other leaves

You may be entitled to a leave of absence under some other Maine laws. Volunteer firefighters have short-term leave rights related to time off to fight fires. If you are in the National Guard or other branch of the military, you may be entitled to leave after you return from military service, or while you are training. The family of a Maine resident deployed for military service lasting more than 180 days may take off the 15 days immediately preceding or immediately following deployment.

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