An Act to Codify and Update a Provision of Private and Special Law
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2093
Committee: Labor
Sponsors: SALISBURY
Amends: 5 MRSA §7073

Legislative Document
No. 2093
H.P. 1408
House of Representatives, January 7, 2026
An Act to Codify and Update a Provision of Private and Special Law 
Governing Temporary Disability for State Employees
Submitted by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services pursuant to Joint 
Rule 203.
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SALISBURY of Westbrook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §7073 is enacted to read:
§7073.  Provision for temporary disability
When a confidential employee has a temporary total disability, the appointing authority 
shall provide temporary disability benefits to the confidential employee in accordance with 
this section and continue to pay the confidential employee's regular employment benefits 
in accordance with subsection 7. 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Confidential employee" means an employee within the executive branch, 
including a probationary employee, who is employed in a position excluded from the 
definition of "state employee" pursuant to Title 26, section 979-A, subsection 6, 
paragraphs B, C, D, I and J. 
B.  "Continuous leave" means leave that is not intermittent and not a reduced schedule.
C.  "Temporary disability benefit" means a benefit for temporary total disability paid 
to an eligible confidential employee pursuant to this section.
D.  "Total disability" means the inability to engage in any gainful occupation for which 
a confidential employee is reasonably suited by training, education and experience.
2.  Eligibility.  A confidential employee employed by the State in that position for 
more than 6 months who becomes totally disabled may receive a temporary disability 
benefit while the confidential employee remains totally disabled and under the care of a 
licensed physician if: 
A.  The confidential employee incurs a loss of time from work as a result of the 
disability, including a disability resulting from sickness or accidental bodily injury; and 
B.  The disability prevents the confidential employee from performing the duties of 
that confidential employee's occupation. 
3.  Start of benefit.  The temporary disability benefit must commence on the day 
immediately following the later of:
A.  The exhaustion of the confidential employee's accumulated sick leave; or
B.  The 30th day of continuous total disability.
4.  End of benefit.  The temporary disability benefit must continue until whichever of 
the following occurs first: 
A.  The day before the day the confidential employee returns to any gainful occupation; 
B.  The day after the confidential employee exhausts the remaining balance of the 365 
days of temporary disability benefits allowed per confidential employee pursuant to 
subsection 6; or 
C.  The first day the confidential employee is eligible for a disability retirement 
allowance under Title 5, chapter 423, subchapter 5, article 3. 
5.  Benefit amount; exception for disabilities compensable under workers' 
compensation.  The temporary disability benefit equals 2/3 of the confidential employee's 
weekly salary at the date of the commencement of the total disability. Any state retirement 
allowance must be deducted from the temporary disability benefit.  A temporary disability 
benefit may not be made if the confidential employee's disability is compensable under 
Title 39-A.
6.  Benefit cap; subsequent periods of total disability.  A confidential employee may 
not receive more than 365 days of temporary disability benefits during that confidential 
employee's entire tenure of service as a confidential employee, regardless of any breaks in 
service. If a confidential employee does not use all 365 days of temporary disability 
benefits for a single period of continuous leave for total disability, the confidential 
employee carries the remaining balance of the 365 days and may use those remaining days 
for subsequent periods of continuous leave for total disability in accordance with this 
section.  
7.  Continuation of regular employment benefits.  A confidential employee who is 
provided temporary disability benefits under this section must continue to receive the 
regular employment benefits that were provided to the confidential employee immediately 
before the first date of the total disability.
Sec. 2.  P&SL 1989, c. 86, Pt. C, §5 is repealed.
SUMMARY
This bill repeals a provision of private and special law governing temporary disability 
for state employees and enacts that provision, with minor changes, in the Maine Revised 
Statutes.