Maine Workers Compensation Employer Rules
Maine requires workers compensation from the first employee. Coverage rules, owner waivers, where to buy, posting, injury deadlines, and penalties.
Maine Workers Compensation
Coverage from the first employee, corporate officers who are employees until the Board approves a waiver, a 7 day report, and a civil penalty of up to $10,000 or 108% of the premium you skipped, whichever is larger
A three person design shop outside Portland once asked me whether its two founders needed to be on the workers compensation policy. They had incorporated a few years earlier, both drew a salary, and their insurance producer had quoted a premium that included them. Was that a mistake?
It was not. In Maine the executive officers of a private corporation are employees by default. An LLC member is not, and a sole proprietor is not, but an officer of a for profit corporation stays inside the policy until the Workers’ Compensation Board approves a waiver. Same two people, same work, different answer depending on the entity on the paperwork.
This page covers Maine only: who must be covered, who is genuinely outside the duty, where the policy comes from, what the clocks are when someone gets hurt, and what going without coverage costs. How the insurance itself works and what it pays for is general ground handled in our guide to workers compensation insurance, and the rest of the state picture sits in the Maine HR compliance guide.
Who Needs Coverage in Maine
Every private employer with employees needs coverage. Section 401 of Title 39-A, the Maine workers compensation statute, makes every private employer subject to the Act, including an independent contractor who hires and pays employees. Each one must secure the payment of compensation for all employees, either by buying a workers compensation policy or by self-insuring under section 403. No headcount threshold appears anywhere in the section.
Part time status does not matter, and neither does whether the business is incorporated. The Maine Bureau of Insurance says the same in its employer guide: the law requires almost all public and private employers to have coverage.
The guide’s list of employers includes private employers, the State, counties, cities, towns, water districts, other quasi-public corporations, municipal school committees and design professionals. The statute itself, in the Maine Revised Statutes, is at 39-A M.R.S. section 401.
Out of state businesses are inside the rule for Maine work. Section 401, subsection 6 requires a nonresident employer whose employees work in the State to obtain coverage from an insurer or self-insurer authorized in Maine, unless exempt under section 113 or unless the employer would be exempt if located here. A crew crossing the border for a two week installation is covered by that sentence.
Who Is Excluded, and Who Needs a Waiver
Maine splits its exclusions into three groups: employers who do not have to secure coverage at all, people who are not employees under the Act, and people who are employees until a waiver is approved. Mixing the second and third groups is what produces uninsured owners and surprise premium audits.
| Who | Maine treatment | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor with no employees | Not required to carry coverage on themselves and files no waiver. May elect personal coverage by written request to the carrier | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(B); WCB waiver instructions |
| Partners in a partnership | Same as a sole proprietor: no policy required on themselves, no waiver form, personal coverage optional | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(B); WCB waiver instructions |
| LLC members | Not required to be covered and file no waiver form. May elect coverage through the carrier | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(B); WCB waiver instructions |
| Executive officers of a for profit corporation | Employees under the Act. Must be covered unless the officer owns at least 20% of the outstanding voting stock and has a Board approved waiver | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(A) and 102(11)(A)(4); WCB waiver instructions |
| Shareholders of a professional corporation | May waive for themselves with at least one share, once the Board approves the waiver | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(A)(4); WCB waiver instructions |
| Executive officers of a nonprofit corporation | Not employees unless the corporation specifically includes them among those for whom coverage is secured | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(A)(3) |
| Parent, spouse, domestic partner or child of an owner | May waive in writing if the Board approves and the waiver was not a condition of employment. A corporate owner’s relative may not waive unless the owner has waived too | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(A)(4) and (5); WCB waiver instructions |
| Domestic service in a private home | The employer is not required to secure coverage for these employees | 39-A M.R.S. 401(1)(A) |
| Seasonal or casual agricultural and aquacultural laborers | Exempt only if the employer carries employer’s liability limits of at least $25,000 and medical payment coverage of at least $5,000 | 39-A M.R.S. 401(1)(B) |
| Other agricultural or aquacultural laborers | Exempt only with employer’s liability of at least $100,000 per full time equivalent laborer plus $5,000 medical payments, and either 6 or fewer concurrent laborers or no more than 240 total hours a week | 39-A M.R.S. 401(1)(C) |
| Independent contractors | Not employees, but only if the worker satisfies the statutory test rather than the label on the invoice | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(A)(7); 102(13-A) |
| Real estate brokers and salespeople paid solely by commission | Not employees where a signed contract states an independent contractor relationship | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(D) |
| Anyone hurt in an employer sponsored athletic event or team | Not an employee for that injury | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(C) |
| Forest products harvesters | Covered as employees with narrow exceptions, and an uncovered harvester must secure personal coverage. Landowners carry liability for an uninsured contractor’s crew | 39-A M.R.S. 102(11)(B-1); 401(4) |
The corporate officer rule is the one that costs money in Maine. Section 102, subsection 11 counts every duly elected or appointed executive officer of a private corporation as an employee. The Board’s waiver instructions say it plainly: executive officers of private corporations must be covered under a policy unless that person is also an owner and has applied for and received a waiver from the Board. A verbal decision between two shareholders is not a waiver.
Where the Policy Comes From
You buy the policy from a private insurance carrier licensed to write workers compensation in Maine. There is no monopolistic state fund here, the kind of state-run insurer some states make the only source of coverage. You buy on the open market instead, usually through a licensed producer: the agent or broker who handles your business insurance.
The insurer handles the filing. Section 403 requires the insurance company to file notice of the policy with the Board, and a cancellation cannot take effect until at least 30 days after the insurer mails notice to both the Board and the employer.
Employers the voluntary market declines still have a route. The Bureau of Insurance employer guide states that Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company is required to provide workers compensation coverage to employers who cannot obtain insurance elsewhere. The same company also insures in the regular voluntary market alongside other insurers.
First year businesses with no claims history and higher hazard trades are the usual candidates for that backstop. If you want the official overview, the full Bureau of Insurance employer guide walks through the market, premium calculation and self-insurance in one place.
| Route | Who it fits | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed private carrier, voluntary market | Almost every small employer in Maine | A policy from a carrier authorized to write workers compensation in Maine, placed through a licensed producer, with the insurer filing notice of issuance with the Board |
| Statutory backstop carrier | Employers the voluntary market turns down, including new businesses and higher hazard operations | Application through a producer. The Bureau of Insurance guide notes this carrier is required to cover employers who cannot get insurance elsewhere |
| Individual self-insurance | Large employers only | Proof of solvency and financial ability to the Superintendent of Insurance, plus cash, securities, an irrevocable standby letter of credit or a surety bond held by the Treasurer of State |
| Group self-insurance | Smaller entities banding together in a regulated group | Bureau of Insurance approval. Members pay a premium into the group and are responsible for the claims of all member employers |
| Monopolistic state fund | Does not exist in Maine | Section 403 lists an insurance policy or self-insurance, and nothing else |
Self-insurance reads like an option and works like a closed door for a small business. Section 403 sets a minimum required security level of $50,000 and requires individual self-insurers to carry specific reinsurance, generally written at a limit of at least $2,000,000.
The same section puts the self-insurer’s security deposit in trust with the Treasurer of State for the benefit of injured employees. On top of that, approved self-insurers pay an annual assessment under section 409 to fund the Bureau of Insurance program that supervises them.
Maine is an expensive state to buy this coverage in. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services benchmarks all 51 jurisdictions on one shared set of class codes, and its 2024 premium rate ranking reports a Maine index rate of $1.37 per $100 of payroll against a national median of $1.09, 11th highest in the country.
Two practical notes for the renewal file. Premium follows classification and payroll, so the records behind those class codes are what settle a workers compensation audit later. And the Bureau reminds employers that loss runs, the claims history on your policy, must be available on request from the carrier. That is the document a producer needs before shopping the account.
Posting and What a New Hire Gets
Maine requires a posted notice, not a handout. Section 406 requires a notice, in a form the Board approves, stating that the employer has conformed to the Act. That notice must be posted and kept posted in each of the employer’s mills, factories or places of business, somewhere conspicuous and accessible to employees.
The notice is Form WCB-90, the Board’s Notice to Employees poster. The poster repeats the rule on its own face, citing section 406: it must hang in a conspicuous place on your premises, accessible to employees. The Board publishes it free in multiple languages, alongside Form WCB-1 for reporting injuries and Form WCB-2C for owner waivers. Download it from the Workers’ Compensation Board forms page.
No Maine statute requires you to hand a new hire a workers compensation pamphlet. The Act asks nothing of you at hire; when someone is hurt, it requires you to give the employee a copy of the first report of injury form.
Two things are still worth putting in the onboarding packet: the name of your carrier and how to report an injury, plus the name of the health care provider you have selected in advance, if you intend to use one.
That advance provider choice is a real right, not a formality. Section 206 gives the employer the initial right to select a health care provider for the injured employee. Only after 10 days from the start of care may the employee choose a different one, by giving the employer the provider’s name and a statement of intention to treat there.
Employers who have not picked a provider before an injury never get the benefit of the first 10 days. Keeping those onboarding acknowledgments findable instead of scattered is the kind of administrative drag FirstHR was built to absorb.
Injury Reporting Deadlines
Your clock is 7 days, and it starts when you learn of the injury. Section 303 requires the employer to report to the Board, within 7 days after receiving notice or knowledge, any injury that caused the employee to lose a day’s work. The employee’s own notice clock runs far longer, at 60 days, which is why employers misjudge how long a claim can stay quiet.
| Clock | Deadline | Who it binds | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice of injury to the employer | 60 days after the date of injury, for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 | Employee | 39-A M.R.S. 301 |
| First report of injury to the Board | Within 7 days after the employer receives notice or has knowledge of an injury that caused a lost day of work | Employer | 39-A M.R.S. 303 |
| First report form for a medical only injury | Completed within 7 days for any injury that required the services of a health care provider, with a copy to the employee and a copy retained | Employer | 39-A M.R.S. 303 |
| Wage statement | Within 30 days after notice or knowledge of a claim for incapacity benefits, with a copy mailed to the employee | Employer | 39-A M.R.S. 303 |
| First payment of incapacity compensation | Within 14 days after the employer has notice or knowledge of the injury, unless a notice of controversy is filed | Employer or carrier | 39-A M.R.S. 205(2) |
| Notice of controversy | No later than 45 days after the employer has notice or knowledge of the injury | Employer or carrier | 39-A M.R.S. 205(2)(C) |
| Waiting period | No compensation for the first 7 days of incapacity. If incapacity runs more than 14 days, compensation is allowed from the date of incapacity | Carrier | 39-A M.R.S. 204 |
| Employee petition to the Board | 2 years from the date of injury or from the date the employer files a required first report, whichever is later | Employee | 39-A M.R.S. 306(1) |
| Petition period after benefits are paid | 6 years from the date of the most recent payment | Employee | 39-A M.R.S. 306(2) |
Two rows deserve a second look. The 60 day employee notice period is not a hard shield. Section 302 says want of notice (a missing notice, in plain terms) is not a bar if the employer or the employer’s agent had knowledge of the injury, and periods of physical or mental incapacity or mistake of fact come out of the count.
The 2 year limitation period in section 306 is the other row to watch. It runs from the date you file the first report when that date is later, so a missing filing quietly extends your own exposure.
Penalties for Going Without Coverage
The Maine penalty is tied to the premium you avoided. Section 324, subsection 3 makes an uninsured employer liable for a civil penalty of up to $10,000 or up to an amount equal to 108% of the premium that should have been paid during the period without coverage, whichever is larger. Skipping a large premium does not cap the exposure at $10,000.
| Failure | Exposure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| No coverage in place | Civil penalty up to $10,000 or up to 108% of the premium that should have been paid during the uninsured period, whichever is larger, payable to the Employment Rehabilitation Fund | 39-A M.R.S. 324(3)(B) |
| Knowingly failing to secure coverage | Class D crime | 39-A M.R.S. 324(3)(A) |
| Personal exposure for the decision | Any agent of the corporation, partnership or LLC with primary responsibility for obtaining insurance coverage is liable for punishment under the section | 39-A M.R.S. 324(3) |
| A knowing violation, an unpaid penalty, or continuing to operate uninsured after a penalty | Administrative dissolution of the corporation or LLC, revocation of authority to do business, or suspension or revocation of a professional license | 39-A M.R.S. 324(3)(C) |
| Knowingly uninsured construction hiring agent or subcontractor | Stop work order at the construction site after a hearing, lifted only once coverage is in force and the penalty is paid or covered by a payment agreement | 39-A M.R.S. 105-A(5) |
| An injury while uninsured | The employer loses the statutory defense in a civil action by the employee, who may sue instead of claiming compensation | 39-A M.R.S. 401(1); 408 |
| Misclassifying employees as contractors while insured | Treated as a failure to secure payment for every misclassified worker, with the same penalties | 39-A M.R.S. 401(3); 407 |
| Missing or late required forms | Civil penalty up to $100 for each violation, and an insured employer can be required to reimburse the insurer for a penalty caused by late notice to the carrier | 39-A M.R.S. 360(1) |
| Willful violation, fraud or intentional misrepresentation | Up to $1,000 for an individual and up to $10,000 for a business entity, after hearing | 39-A M.R.S. 360(2) |
| Late payment of awarded compensation | Board fine of up to $200 for each day of noncompliance, with the first $50 of each day paid to the employee | 39-A M.R.S. 324(2)(A) |
| Benefits not paid within 30 days of becoming due | $50 per day added and paid to the worker, capped at $1,500 in total | 39-A M.R.S. 205(3) |
Outside construction, Maine does not use a stop work order to enforce coverage. Section 105-A allows one only at a construction site, after a hearing finds that a hiring agent or construction subcontractor knowingly failed to secure coverage. The order stays in force until coverage is in place and the penalty is paid or under a payment agreement.
For every other employer, the pressure lands on the business itself. The corporate charter, the LLC registration and the professional license are on the line under section 324, subsection 3, paragraph C, once the violation is knowing, a penalty goes unpaid, or the business keeps operating uninsured after a penalty. The statute defines a knowing violation broadly enough to catch ordinary carelessness.
Each of these qualifies as a knowing violation: prior coverage that lapsed, a written notice from the Board that you need coverage, an earlier violation, or misclassifying a worker after the Board has said otherwise. Full text is at 39-A M.R.S. section 324.
The exposure that actually ends small businesses is the civil suit. Workers compensation normally buys immunity from being sued over a workplace injury, but section 408 takes away the employee’s right to sue only where the employer has secured payment as required. Miss that, and section 401 says the employee may claim compensation from you directly or take you to court without the defense the Act would otherwise give you.
What to Do When Someone Gets Hurt
Work the sequence in order and the 7 day clock takes care of itself. These steps are the Maine specific version of the process, so run them alongside whatever incident reporting you already have.
Safety obligations sit alongside this, not inside it. Section 401 requires an employer whose experience rating (the claims based premium factor) hits 2 or more in a policy year to undertake a workplace health and safety program with the Department of Labor, with a 10% surcharge on premium for an employer who fails to complete it. Federal recordkeeping and general duty obligations are a separate body of rules, covered in our guide to OSHA requirements for employers.
Contractors and the Misclassification Trap
Maine treats misclassification as going uninsured. Section 407 says an employer with an approved policy that has misclassified one or more employees has failed to secure payment of compensation within the meaning of section 324, subsection 3, and section 401 repeats it. Having a policy does not help if the people left off it should have been on it.
The test is statutory and demanding. Section 102, subsection 13-A presumes that a person who performs services for pay is an employee unless the employing unit (the business paying for the work) proves freedom from essential direction and control, both under the contract and in fact.
The employing unit must also prove all five core criteria: control over means and progress, an independently established trade or business, opportunity for profit and loss, hiring and paying any assistants, and availability of the services to a client or customer community.
At least 3 of a further 7 criteria must also be met, including a substantive investment in tools and knowledge, no exclusivity requirement, contractual responsibility for completing the work, and pay tied to the work rather than to time alone.
Two consequences follow for a small employer. A contractor who is really an employee lands on your payroll at the premium audit, and if that worker is hurt you are the uninsured employer described in section 324.
The habit that prevents both problems is simple: before a new contractor starts, run the worker through the statutory test, check the Board’s list of Independent Contractor Statement filers, and put anyone who fails the test on the policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Maine business with one employee need workers compensation?
Yes. Section 401 requires every private employer, including an independent contractor who hires and pays employees, to secure the payment of compensation for all employees through a policy or approved self-insurance. There is no headcount threshold and no part time carve out, and the Bureau of Insurance describes the rule the same way in its employer guide.
Can a Maine business owner leave themselves off the policy?
It depends on the entity. Sole proprietors, partners and LLC members are not required to carry coverage on themselves and file nothing to stay off it. Executive officers of a for profit corporation are employees under section 102 and must be covered unless the officer owns at least 20% of the voting stock and holds a waiver the Board has approved.
Where do I buy workers compensation insurance in Maine?
From a private carrier licensed to write the coverage in Maine, usually through a producer who handles business insurance. Maine has no monopolistic state fund. The Bureau of Insurance guide notes that Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company is required to cover employers who cannot obtain insurance elsewhere and also competes in the voluntary market.
How fast does a Maine employer have to report a workplace injury?
Within 7 days of notice or knowledge, under section 303, for any injury that cost the employee a day of work. The same 7 day window applies to completing the form for an injury that required a health care provider, with a copy given to the employee even when the form stays in your file rather than going to the Board.
What happens to a Maine employer with no coverage?
A civil penalty of up to $10,000 or up to 108% of the premium that should have been paid, whichever is larger, plus a Class D crime for a knowing violation. Dissolution or license suspension or revocation can follow a knowing violation, an unpaid penalty, or operating uninsured after a penalty. Whoever had primary responsibility for buying the insurance is personally exposed, and the injured employee can sue without the defense the Act normally provides.
Are farm workers, domestic workers or family members exempt in Maine?
Domestic service in a private home is exempt. Agriculture and aquaculture are conditional, requiring employer’s liability and medical payment coverage at set limits plus a headcount or hours test. Family members of an owner are employees unless the Board approves a written waiver, which cannot be made a condition of employment.