Maine program
Paid hours you have earned (Maine earned paid leave)
Maine workers at covered employers earn paid leave for any purpose, including caring for a child.
What it is
Maine workers at covered employers earn paid leave for any purpose, including caring for a child.
Short appointments or a few caregiving days may fit within paid hours you already have. Maine earned paid leave and family sick leave have different employer-size tests. Payroll can identify your balance and the rule covering its use.
Eligibility rules
- Earned paid leave applies where more than 10 employees work in the usual course of business for more than 120 days in a calendar year.
- An employer can delay use until 120 days of employment, even though hours build from the start.
- The family sick-leave law covers public and private employers with at least 25 employees.
What you get
- Up to 40 paid hours earned in a year of employment.
- Family sick-leave protections at covered employers.
What the help includes
- The separate family-sick-leave rule lets eligible workers use leave already earned for a child, spouse or parent. It creates no extra leave bank. A family-use cap cannot be below 40 hours in 12 months when that much eligible leave is available.
If you decide to apply
- Ask payroll for your earned leave balance and the rules for the dates you need.
- Have your employment start date and planned caregiving time ready.
Your employer’s payroll or human resources office · Official page ↗
After you ask
- Payroll confirms the available balance and how the requested days will be recorded.
Good to know
The earned-leave employer threshold is more than 10 employees. The separate family sick-leave law uses 25 or more.
Other details
- You can use these hours for anything, including your child’s care, and up to 40 unused hours carry into the next year without cutting what you earn. A separate family sick-leave law lets you use leave you already have for a sick child at employers with 25 or more employees; it adds no new hours.
Official sources
“Which paid hours can I use for my child’s care, and how would that affect longer leave? Could you help me weigh the drawbacks and request the right leave?”
Why I’m asking: I want to know what paid time I already have for appointments and care.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the balance and book the days.
Your social worker
Payroll confirms the hours you have earned.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- Your employer, against the statute.
- Ask HR
- “How many hours of Maine earned paid leave do I have, and can I use them to care for my child?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the employer, in writing, for your earned paid leave balance.
- Ask for your earned leave balance in writing.
- Use it for the first clinic days while a paid-leave claim is being decided.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the employer for your earned paid leave balance and book the days.
What to gather
- Your start date
- The employer headcount
- Your current leave balance
How long: Up to 40 hours in one year of employment.
What a yes looks like
Paid days off without touching your other leave.
What a no looks like, and the next move
If the employer refuses family use, point at the 25-employee family sick leave rule.
Watch out
- The floor is more than 10 employees, not 10 or more.
- An employer can make you wait until 120 days of employment, though the hours build from day one.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Covered workers earn one paid hour per 40 worked, up to 40 yearly, usable for any purpose. Family sick leave separately protects use of an existing balance.
- $40 — Hours earned per hours worked
- $40/year — Maximum earned in one year of employment
- $120 — Days of employment an employer can require before you use it
Legal protection: Family sick leave: earned leave can be used for a child, spouse or parent · An employer cannot cap that family use below 40 hours in 12 months
What it costs the family: None; the hours are paid.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Employment
- employed
- Employer size
- more than 10 employees in the usual and regular course of business for more than 120 days in a calendar year; family sick leave applies at public or private employers with 25 or more employees
- Tenure 12m
- an employer can delay use until 120 days of employment
Expect friction on: It is capped at 40 hours a year, which is one week
The trap: The floor is more than 10 employees, not 10 or more. An employer can make you wait until 120 days of employment before using it, but the hours start building from your first day. An employer cannot cap family use below 40 hours in 12 months.
Where I read this
- 26 MRS section 637, earned paid leave — Maine Legislature, read September 10, 2026
- 26 MRS section 636, family sick leave — Maine Legislature, read September 10, 2026