An Act To Assist Maine Military Families
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1747
Committee: Labor
Sponsors: SCHNEIDER, FISHER, BRENNAN, DAMON, CAIN, CUMMINGS, DUNN, FAIRCLOTH
Amends: 26 MRSA §814

Legislative Document 
No. 1747 
S.P.664 
In Senate, December 30,2005 
An Act To Assist Maine Military Families 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee 
on Labor pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Senator SCHNEIDER of Penobscot. 
Cosponsored by Representative FISHER of Brewer and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: BRENNAN of Cumberland, DAMON of Hancock, Representatives: CAIN of Orono, 
CUMMINGS of Portland, DUNN of Bangor, FAIRCLOTH of Bangor. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies; and 
Whereas, with the continued and ongoing deployment of Maine 
residents to active military duty, it is necessary that the leave 
authorized by this legislation become immediately available to 
the family members of those residents; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts 
create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety; now, therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA c. 7. sub-c. 5. as amended, is further amended 
by repealing the subchapter headnote and enacting the following 
in its place: 
SUBCBAPTER 5 
4 
LEAVE RELATING ".1,'0 RESERVE TRAINING 
OR MILITARY SERVICE 
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §814 is enacted to read: 
§814. 
Family military leave 
I. 
Defini~s. 
As 
used 
in 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following meanings. 
this 
section, 
following 
terms 
unless 
the 
have 
the 
A. 
"Employee" 
means 
any 
person 
who 
may 
be 
permitted,_ 
reguired or directed by an employer in consideration ot: 
direct 
or 
indirect 
gain 
or 
profit 
to 
engage 
in 
any 
employment and who has been employed by the same employer 
for at least 12 months and has been employed for at least 
1,250 
hours 
of 
service 
during 
the 
month 
period 
immediately preceding the 
commencement 
of the employee's 
family military leave. 
"Employee" includes an independent 
contractor. 
B. "Employee benefits" means all benefits, other th~alary 
and wages, provided or made available to employees by an 
employer 
and 
includes 
group 
life 
insurance, 
health 
insurance, disability insurance and pensions, regardless of 
whether benefits are provided by a policy or practice of an 
employer. 
Page l-LR2606(1) 
.. 
C. "Employer" means: 
(1) 
Any person. partnership, corporation, association 
or other business entity: and 
(2) 
The 
State, 
a 
county, 
a 
municipality 
or 
any 
political subdivision. 
D. 
"Family military leave" means 
leave 
requested by an 
employee who is the spouse or parent of a person who is a 
Maine resident and is called to military service lasting 
longer 
than 
days 
with 
the State or 
United States 
~ant to the orders of the Governor or the President of 
the United States. 
2. 
Family military 
leave 
requirement. 
Subject 
to 
the 
requirements of subsection 3, an employer that employs 50 or more 
employees shall provide up to 15 days per year of family military 
leave to an employee during the time federal or state deployment 
orders are in effect for the spouse or child of the employee. 
Family military leave granted under this section may consist of 
unpaid leave. 
3. Notice reqyirgments. An employee taking family military 
leave under this section is subject to the following. 
A. 
The employee must give at least 14 days' notice of the 
intended date upon which the family military leave will 
commence if leave will consist of 5 or more consecutive work 
~ 
a. 
An employee taking family military leave for fewer than 
consecutive 
work 
days 
must give the 
employer 
advance 
notice as is practicable. 
C. 
The employee shall consult with the employer to attempt 
to schedule the leave so as to not unduly disrupt the 
operations of the employer. 
4. Certification. An employer may require certification from 
the proper military authority to verify an employee's eligibility 
for the family military leave requested pursuant to this section. 
5. 
Other leave 
e][h~l1sted. 
An 
employee may take famiU 
military leave 
under 
this section only if the 
employee 
has 
~austed 
all 
accrued 
vacation 
leave, 
personal 
leave. 
compensatory leave and any other leave. except sick leave and 
disability leave. that may be granted to the employee. 
6. Restoration to position. An employee who exercises the 
right to family military leave under this section is entitled. 
upon expiration of the leave. to be restored by the employer to 
the position held by the employee when the leave commenced or to 
a position with equivalent seniority status. employee benefits. 
pay and other terms and conditions of employment. This subsection 
does not apply if the employer proves that the employee was not 
restored as provided in this subsection because of conditions 
unrelated to the employee's exercise of rights under this section. 
7. Emeloyee benefits protection. An employer shall make it 
possible for an employee to continue employee benefits at the 
employee's expense during any family military leave taken under 
this section. The employer and employee may negotiate for the 
employer to maintain employee benefits at the employer's expense 
for the duration of the leave. 
A. 
Taking family military leave under this section does not 
result in the loss of any employee benefit accrued before 
the date on which the leave commenced. 
B. 
Nothing in this section may be construed to affect an 
employer's 
obligation 
to 
comply 
with 
any 
collective 
bargaining agreement or employee benefit plan that provides 
greater leave rights to employees than the rights provided 
under this section. 
C. 
The familY....-.Jnilitary leave rights 
provi..Q.~nder thili 
section may not be diminished by any collective bargaining 
agreement or employee benefit plan. 
D. 
Nothing in this section may be construed to affect or 
diminish the contract rights or seniority status of any 
other employee of any employer covered under this section. 
8. 
Prohibited acts. An employer may not: 
A. 
Interfere with. restrain or deny the exercise or the 
attempt to exercise any right provided under this section; 
B. 
Discharge. fine, suspend. expel, discipline or in any 
other manner discriminate against any employee who exercises 
any right provided under this section; or 
C. 
Discharge. fine. suspend, expel, discipline or in any 
other manner discriminate against any employee for opposing 
,any practice made unlawful by this section. 
9. 
Enforcement. An employee may bring a civil action in 
Superior Court to enforce this section. The court may enjoin any 
act or practice that violates or may violate this section and may 
order 
any 
other 
equitable 
relief 
that 
is 
necessary 
and 
appropriate to redress the violation or to enforce this section. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill, modeled after recently enacted law in Illinois, 
requires that businesses with 50 or more employees give up to 15 
days of leave, which may be unpaid, for spouses and parents of 
Maine residents who 
are serving in the military after those 
employees' other leave balances have been used.