An Act to Create the Maine Family First Employer Program
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0810
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: JAUCH, VITELLI, ANKELES, EATON, GOLEK, HASENFUS, MILLIKEN, DAUGHTRY
Amends: 26 MRSA §10

Legislative Document
No. 810
H.P. 499
House of Representatives, February 21, 2023
An Act to Create the Maine Family First Employer Program
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative JAUCH of Topsham.
Cosponsored by Senator VITELLI of Sagadahoc and
Representatives: ANKELES of Brunswick, EATON of Deer Isle, GOLEK of Harpswell, 
HASENFUS of Readfield, MILLIKEN of Blue Hill, Senator: DAUGHTRY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §10 is enacted to read:
§10.  Maine Family First Employer Program
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Department" means the Department of Labor.
B.  "Designation" means designation as a Maine family first employer.
C.  "Employer" means a person engaged in business in the State that employs full-time 
one or more persons.  "Employer" includes the State and any political subdivision with 
one or more employees.
D.  "Program" means the Maine Family First Employer Program established in this 
section.
2.  Program established.  The Maine Family First Employer Program is established 
within the department to award a designation to an employer who meets criteria under 
subsection 3.
3.  Program criteria.  In order to be eligible for the program, an employer, with respect 
to all full-time employees, must meet at least 4 of the following criteria:
A.  Demonstrate that all employees have equal opportunity to advance to leadership 
positions as provided in Title 5, chapter 337, subchapter 3;
B.  Provide employees with access to or the opportunity to take time off for mentorship 
training or leadership opportunities to assist in advancing to leadership positions;
C.  Demonstrate that the employer does not pay different wage rates to employees for 
substantially similar work when the work is viewed as a composite of skill, effort and 
responsibility and is performed under the same working conditions, except when the 
wage rate difference is based upon one or more of the following:
(1)  A seniority system;
(2)  A merit system;
(3)  A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or
(4)  A bona fide reason such as education, training or experience;
D.  Make a child care stipend, facility or service available to employees or qualify for 
the federal employer-provided child care tax credit under 26 United States Code, 
Section 45F;
E.  Provide employees at least 2 weeks of paid leave, in addition to other sick or 
vacation time that employees may accrue, for the birth or adoption of a child and 
medical care of the employees, which may include medical care of family members of 
employees;
F.  Provide employees with flexible work arrangements to accommodate important 
family obligations;
G.  Provide health insurance options for or contribute to the health insurance costs of 
employees and dependents of employees; and
H.  Contribute to employees retirement benefit plan at a level equal to or greater than 
the minimum contribution required for employees to participate in the retirement plan.
4.  Program procedures.  The department shall establish procedures by rule for the 
program by which an employer may apply for and be awarded a designation for a 3-year 
period.  The application for the designation must include the following:
A.  The employer's name and address and a description of the type of business or 
industry or the department of the employer;
B.  Evidence that the employer meets at least 4 of the criteria under subsection 3; and
C.  The signature of the owner, manager, chief executive officer, supervisor or 
department head of the employer, or the owner's, manager's, chief executive officer's, 
supervisor's or department head's designee, attesting that the information provided in 
the application is correct.  The department may revoke a designation if an employer 
knowingly provides false information on the application.
5.  Determination of designation.  The department shall review all applications to 
determine eligibility for a designation.  If an employer meets all of the criteria in subsection 
3, the employer is entitled to a platinum designation.  If an employer meets at least 4 but 
not all of the criteria in subsection 3, the employer is entitled to a gold designation.
6.  Award of the designation; logo.  The Governor shall award in writing or 
electronically the designation to an employer that the department has determined is entitled 
to a designation under subsection 5. The department shall create a logo to be included in 
the awarding of the designation that an employer that is awarded a designation may use for 
promotional purposes.  An employer that has not received a designation under this 
subsection may not use the logo for any purpose.
7.  List of designated employers.  The department shall publish a list of all designated 
employers under subsection 5 on the department's publicly accessible website.  The 
department shall update the list at least 3 times per year.
8.  Rules.  The department may adopt routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to carry out the purposes of this section.
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Maine Family First Employer Program under the Department of 
Labor to award employers that create family-friendly workplaces by providing, for all full-
time employees, advancement and leadership opportunities; the same pay rates for similar 
work; stipends or assistance for child care; paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child 
and medical care for employees or family members of employees; flexible work 
accommodations for other family obligations; and health insurance and retirement plan 
options. The awards are presented by the Governor and come with a logo that a designated 
employer may use for promotional purposes.