Maine business group criticizes latest paid family leave rules, saying 30 days notice is not enough [Video]

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce has taken aim at a proposed rule for the state Paid Family and Medical Leave program that would allow employees to give as little as 30 days’ notice before taking leave.

The business advocacy group said Monday that the Department of Labor’s proposed regulation does not comply with the law, which requires leave to be scheduled to “prevent undue hardship on the employer as reasonably determined by the employer.”

Businesses, particularly small operations that rely on a few workers to serve customers, will be thrown off balance if workers take leave with just 30 days notice, the chamber said.

“Effectively, a business will not be able to claim an undue hardship if an individual requests leave 30 days prior to the scheduled time,” it said.

But Nora Flaherty-Stanford, communications director for the Maine People’s Alliance, a liberal group that advocated for the law, said …