Workers' comp · ME
Maine workers' comp calculator
Maine ties the weekly ceiling to the injury year, so a 2019 back injury and a 2021 one are capped at different multiples of the same state wage.
Rules read on official Maine pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,561.40
- from July 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- none
- no statutory floor
- Waiting period
- 7 days
- paid back past 14 days
Maine pays an employee who is totally incapacitated by a work injury 66.67% of gross average weekly wages, for as long as the total incapacity lasts (39-A M.R.S. § 212(1-A)). For injuries on or after January 1, 2020 the weekly ceiling is 125% of the state average weekly wage, which gives $1,561.40 for the payment year that began July 1, 2026; the Workers' Compensation Board publishes the figure each summer. You hit that ceiling at about $2,342 a week of gross pay. Maine has no minimum weekly benefit. The first 7 days of incapacity are not paid unless it lasts more than 14 days, and firefighters are paid from the first day (§ 204). A supervisor earning $1,800 who is out eight weeks receives $1,200 a week, $9,600 in all. When the worker can do some work, partial benefits replace two thirds of the lost earnings, for up to 624 combined weeks of total and partial benefits.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Maine
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,561.40 / none |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,143 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the Maine Workers' Compensation Board rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
Three ceilings, one state wage
Maine has rewritten its maximum twice in a decade, and each version still governs the injuries of its era. Under 39-A M.R.S. § 211, the cap is 90% of the state average weekly wage for injuries before 2013, 100% for injuries from 2013 through 2019, and 125% for injuries from January 1, 2020 on. The Board’s state average weekly wage notice prints one table per era. That is why a paper-mill electrician earning $2,700 a week and hurt in 2026 is held to $1,561.40, while a worker with the same pay hurt in 2018 would be capped at the full state wage itself. Maine's state average weekly wage as of July 1, 2026 is $1,249.12 and the annual cost-of-living adjustment multiplier is 1.04194054 (Workers' Compensation Board SAWW notice, revised 8/14/26).
The rate has also changed. Since 2013 Maine pays two thirds of gross wages; injuries before 2013 are still paid at 80% of after-tax wages under § 212(1). Older guides and some employer handbooks still describe the after-tax method, so check the date of injury before trusting a number.
No floor, and a fourteen-day line
Maine sets no minimum benefit for total incapacity, so a low wage produces a low check: a retail clerk at $520 a week receives $347. The seven-day waiting rule in § 204 makes the length of the absence decisive. Back after twelve days, that clerk is paid for 5 days, $248; out sixteen days, the whole period is paid, $792. Firefighters skip the waiting period entirely.
Partial incapacity and the 624-week clock
When the doctor clears limited work, benefits shift to § 213: two thirds of the difference between gross pre-injury wages and what the employee is able to earn afterwards, under the same ceiling. For injuries since 2020 the combined total and partial benefits stop after 624 weeks, about twelve years, unless the Board extends them for extreme financial hardship. Total incapacity itself has no week limit, and loss of both eyes, both hands or both feet is presumed permanent and total for 800 weeks.
Medical treatment starts with a provider the employer chooses, but after 10 days the employee may switch to a provider of his or her own, subject to an objection the Board can mediate (§ 206). Annual adjustments to ongoing benefits use the multiplier in the same notice. The Maine child support page explains how a weekly benefit counts as income in a support case.
The Maine rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Maine |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,561.40 |
| Weekly minimum | none |
| Applies to | payment period July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027, injuries on or after January 1, 2020 (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026: $1,498.55) |
| Waiting period | 7 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. 2/3 of the employee's gross average weekly wages for injuries on or after January 1, 2013 (39-A M.R.S. § 212(1-A)); injuries before 2013 are paid 80% of after-tax average weekly wage (§ 212(1)). Maximum is $441 or 125% of the state average weekly wage, whichever is higher, for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 (§ 211). source
Waiting period. Compensation is not payable for the first 7 days of incapacity (firefighters are paid from the date of incapacity); if incapacity continues for more than 14 days, compensation is allowed from the date of incapacity (39-A M.R.S. § 204). source
Duration. Total incapacity benefits are paid for the duration of the incapacity (39-A M.R.S. § 212(1-A)). Partial incapacity benefits for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 stop after 624 combined weeks of total and partial benefits, extendable by the Board for extreme financial hardship (§ 213(1)(C)). source
Permanent disability. Partial incapacity for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 is paid at 2/3 of the difference between gross pre-injury weekly wages and what the employee is able to earn after the injury, up to the § 211 maximum, for up to 624 weeks (39-A M.R.S. § 213(1)(C)). Specific-loss benefits for listed body parts are paid under § 212 schedules administered by the Board (Specific Loss Benefits, § 212). source
Worth knowing in Maine
- Maine's state average weekly wage as of July 1, 2026 is $1,249.12 and the annual cost-of-living adjustment multiplier is 1.04194054 (Workers' Compensation Board SAWW notice, revised 8/14/26). source
- The maximum depends on the injury date: 125% of SAWW for injuries since January 1, 2020, 100% for 2013-2019 injuries and 90% before 2013 (39-A M.R.S. § 211). source
- Loss of both eyes, both legs or feet, or both arms or hands is conclusively presumed to be permanent total incapacity for 800 weeks from the date of injury (39-A M.R.S. § 212(2)). source
- The employer initially selects the health care provider, but after 10 days of care the employee may switch to a provider of his or her choice (39-A M.R.S. § 206(1)-(2)). source
- Firefighters are exempt from the 7-day waiting period and are paid from the first day of incapacity (39-A M.R.S. § 204). source