Global Compliance – Maine
Maine: Expansion of Earned Paid Leave Accrual and Carryover
Maine has recently amended the Earned Paid Leave (EPL) law to expand the earned leave accrual and carryover entitlements. Effective September 24, 2025, employees will be able to retain unused leave from the previous calendar year without impacting their ability to accrue new leave in the following year.
Key Changes:
Previously, employees were able to carry forward up to 40 hours of unused EPL each year. However, any carried-over hours reduced the amount they accrue in the following year effectively maintaining a total cap of 40 hours.
Example: If an employee carried over 30 hours from one year, they were able to accrue only 10 additional hours the next year (total available balance: 40 hours).
Effective September 24, 2025, employees can carry forward up to 40 hours of unused leave into the following calendar year without any reduction in their new leave accrual.
This means that employees are entitled to accrue up to 40 hours of earned paid leave per calendar year, regardless of any carried-over balance from the prior year.
The new maximum aggregate leave balances an employee may hold at any point in time is 80 hours, comprising:
- Up to 40 hours of current-year accrual, and
- Up to 40 hours of prior-year carryover
Example: If an employee carries over 30 hours from 2025 to 2026, they can still accrue the full 40 hours in 2026, resulting in a total available balance of 70 hours.
For additional details, please refer to the previous blog post on Maine’s Earned Paid Leave law.
Take Away– Employers shall proactively review and update their policies in Maine to incorporate these labour law reforms.
