The University of Maine System provides a variety of leave options to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities. Employees who need leave time for birth or adoption of a child, care of a sick family member, other family responsibilities or Military Family Leave may use disability leave, annual leave, compensatory time, or leave without pay¹ as described below. This is a summary of complex policies. For more complete information, refer to the applicable collective bargaining agreement or employee handbook or contact your Employee Benefits Center.

UMS FMLA Forms and Important Documents

Department of Labor Documents 

The Standard Disability Documents

Do I Qualify?

If you are a UMS Employee, you will likely qualify for leave and paid leave. Leave eligibility falls under the following policies:

  • Federal FMLA: You must be employed by the University for greater than 1 year, and within the last year, worked at least 1,250 hours for the University.
  • Maine FMLA: You must have been employed by the University for greater than 1 year.
  • Maine Paid FMLA:
    • If you’ve earned 6 times the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) during a certain time period, you would meet the earnings requirement for the program. The SAWW is announced by the Maine Department of Labor each year, taking into account wage data from across the state. The time period for earning 6 times the SAWW is your Base Period: the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your leave begins.
    • You must work in Maine, and your only work must not be part of a work-study program.
    • You must not be incarcerated.

Types and Amounts of Leave

Employees are able to take leave under Federal FMLA, and the UMS ME PFML Policy for up to 12 weeks for the following types

  • Serious health condition of the employee;
  • The birth of the employee’s child or the employee’s domestic partner’s child;
  • The placement of a child 16 years of age or less with the employee or with the employee’s domestic partner in connection with the adoption of the child by the employee or the employee’s domestic partner;
  • A child, domestic partner’s child, grandchild, domestic partner’s
    grandchild, parent, domestic partner, sibling, spouse or an individual with whom the covered individual has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship with a serious health condition;
  • The donation of an organ of that employee for a human organ transplant; or
  • Employees may take up to 26 weeks for the death or serious health condition of the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child if the spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child as a member of the state military forces, as defined in Title 37‑B, section 102, or the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, dies or incurs a serious health condition while on active duty. During this time, 12 weeks are paid by the UMS ME PFML Policy, and the remaining 14 weeks may be paid by using disability, vacation, or compensatory time. Certification for serious injury or illness of covered servicemember for military family leave may be required.

Under state law, when an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, or child who is a Maine resident is deployed for military leave in a combat theater or an area where armed conflict is taking place for 180 days or longer, the employee may take up to 15 days of leave. The leave may be taken during the 15 days immediately before deployment, the 15 days immediately after deployment, or 15 days during the deployment, or any combination.

In each Benefit Year, the maximum amount of Family and Medical Leave that may be taken under this Policy is 12 weeks in the aggregate.

Subject to the above limits on the length of leave, paid leave may be approved by UMS on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule for the serious health condition of the employee, the serious health condition of an employee’s family member, to care for a family member who is a covered service member, or for a qualifying exigency arising out of a family member’s active duty or impending call to active duty in the Armed Forces. Intermittent leave may be taken in increments of no less than one (1) hour.

Employees may utilize disability, vacation and compensatory time to top off their pay during UMS ME PFML. Pay may not exceed more than 100% from all sources (UMS ME PFML, disability, vacation, and compensatory time).

What Is the Benefit

The weekly benefit amount paid to employees and self-employed individuals on family leave or medical leave is calculated as follows:  

  • The portion of the covered individual’s average weekly wage that is equal to or less than 50% of the state average weekly wage must be replaced at a rate of 90%; and
  • The portion of the covered individual’s average weekly wage that is more than 50% of the state average weekly wage must be replaced at a rate of 66% up to the maximum weekly benefit.  

The Maine Department of Labor offers a Paid FMLA benefit estimator (External Site) to estimate what your weekly benefit will be.

How to Apply

You must apply for FMLA and UMS ME PFML if you are out for greater than five days. Please reach out to the Employee Benefits Center to initiate your FMLA request and send in the Request for Family or Medical Leave (External Site) to benefits@maine.edu. You may also call us at 207-973-3373.

Your PFML coverage at the University of Maine System is provided by Standard Insurance Company. Claims should be filed 30 days before foreseeable leave or as soon as practicable if the need for leave is not foreseeable. You must notify the Employee Benefits Center in addition to filing a claim. You can submit a ME PFML claim to The Standard Insurance Company by phone or online.

The address for Standard Insurance Company is 1100 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland OR 97204. More information about applying for paid FMLA can be found on the Employee Guide (PDF).

If you do not reside in the state of Maine, your state of residence may offer a Paid Family and Leave Benefit. As of May 1st, 2026, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington provide forms of Paid FMLA. Please apply through your State Paid FMLA portal if you work and reside in one of these states.

Benefits Coverage During Leaves

While on an approved paid leave of absence (including disability leave, annual leave, and compensatory time), you will continue to be eligible to receive university benefits. All benefit deductions will continue to be deducted normally from your pay for the benefits, in which you are enrolled at the time of the leave.

Please see our “Benefit Continuations While on an Approved Leave of Absence” page for more information.

Medical Release to Return to Work

Prior to returning to work, employees on Medical Leave must be cleared to return by the Employee Benefits Center by providing documentation from their health care provider that they are able to resume work. Any restrictions must be reviewed in advance by the UMS Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Services as a request for reasonable accommodation. The University will consider reasonable accommodations for employees in accordance with its Procedure for Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities. Employees requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to return to work at the University after a Medical Leave must contact the UMS Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Services to request such an accommodation.

Important notices

  • In compliance with Federal law, health care providers are informed not to provide genetic information.
  • Faculty with academic-year appointments and salaried employees whose appointments do not require work during periods when the university student population is absent do not accrue annual leave.