When does the Maine 300-day clock start if the harassment went on for months?

The statute does not answer that, which is why you should count conservatively. 5 M.R.S. 4611 runs the 300 days from "the alleged act of unlawful discrimination" and adds nothing else. There is no discovery alternative in the text, no last-occurrence rule for a continuing pattern, and no reference to the date you were fired. Count from the earliest incident you want the commission to consider, keep a dated log of every incident, and ask a Maine employment lawyer before you rely on a later start date.

Does Maine law cover my employer if it only has a few employees?

Almost certainly yes. 5 M.R.S. 4553(4) defines an employer as any person in this State employing any number of employees, so there is no headcount floor at all and a two-person Maine business is covered where federal Title VII would need 15 employees. The narrow exclusions are an individual employed by that individual's parents, spouse or child under 4553(3), and a non-profit religious or fraternal corporation as to employment of its own members of the same religion, sect or fraternity under 4553(4). Neither exclusion applies to disability discrimination.

I work remotely in Maine for an out-of-state company. Does Maine law reach my employer?

The definition says it does. 5 M.R.S. 4553(4) includes "any person outside this State employing any number of employees whose usual place of employment is in this State," which is written for exactly this situation and is rare language among state fair employment statutes. If your usual place of employment is in Maine, the fact that your employer has no Maine office does not by itself put you outside the Maine Human Rights Act. Record where you actually work, since that is the fact the definition turns on.

Does Maine law cover racial or religious harassment, or only sexual harassment?

It covers harassment on the basis of protected class generally. The Maine Human Rights Commission's employment regulation, 94-348 C.M.R. ch. 3, sec. 10(1), reaches unwelcome advances, comments, jokes, acts and other verbal or physical conduct related to protected class, giving conduct "of a sexual, racial, or religious nature" as its examples, where the conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Section 10(3) also reaches harassment by people who are not employees, weighed against the extent of the employer's control. The protected classes themselves are listed in 5 M.R.S. 4572(1)(A).

Does my employer have to train employees about harassment in Maine, and who enforces that?

Yes, and the duty sits outside the Maine Human Rights Act. 26 M.R.S. 807(1) requires employers in workplaces with 15 or more employees to conduct an education and training program for all new employees within one year of the commencement of employment, with additional training for supervisory and managerial employees, and 807(3) prescribes what the training must cover. 26 M.R.S. 807(2) goes further and binds employers of any size, requiring the commission's sexual harassment poster plus an individual written notice to every employee annually. The Maine Department of Labor enforces these duties under 807(5) with escalating fines, and its enforcement does not limit or affect the commission's own jurisdiction.

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Maine

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Maine - Last updated September 15, 2026

Maine does not require you to go to the Maine Human Rights Commission before you sue. It charges you for skipping it. Under 5 M.R.S. 4622(1), attorney's fees, civil penal damages, and compensatory and punitive damages "may not be awarded to a plaintiff in a civil action under this Act" unless the plaintiff first filed a complaint with the commission and the commission then dismissed the case, failed within 90 days of a reasonable grounds finding to reach a conciliation agreement, issued a right-to-sue letter, or dismissed the case in error. The courthouse door stays open either way. The money does not. That reframes the deadline most Maine readers are told to worry about. 5 M.R.S. 4611 says a complaint "must be filed with the commission not more than 300 days after the alleged act of unlawful discrimination," and it must be made under oath. Missing those 300 days does not end your claim. It ends the part of the case that pays a lawyer and compensates you, which for most people amounts to the same thing. The deadline that actually extinguishes a Maine claim is the one on the lawsuit. 5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(C) requires the action to be "commenced not more than either 2 years after the act of unlawful discrimination complained of or 90 days after any of the occurrences listed under section 4622, subsection 1, paragraphs A to D, whichever is later." You get the later of the two, so a charge that sits at the commission past the two-year mark still leaves 90 days to sue after the commission acts. Coverage in Maine is as broad as it gets. 5 M.R.S. 4553(4) defines an employer as any person in this State "employing any number of employees," and it reaches out-of-state employers whose employees' usual place of employment is in Maine. A remote worker in Maine, and a worker at a two-person Maine shop, are both covered where federal Title VII would need 15 employees. If what you are facing includes physical assault, threats, or stalking, contact emergency services and speak with an attorney. Those situations need more than a complaint form. Attorney review is available if you want a second set of eyes before you file anything.

Find out where you stand in Maine

Where are you with the harassment complaint?

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How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in Maine?

Three hundred days to the commission, and two years to court. 5 M.R.S. 4611 requires a complaint under oath to be filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission not more than 300 days after the alleged act of unlawful discrimination. 5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(C) separately requires a civil action to be commenced not more than either two years after the act complained of or 90 days after one of the commission outcomes listed in 5 M.R.S. 4622(1)(A) to (D), whichever is later. The federal EEOC charge deadline runs on its own clock, 180 days from the last incident of harassment and 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting the same discrimination, so confirm your federal window with the EEOC directly.

Do I have to file with the Maine Human Rights Commission before I can sue?

No, but going straight to court costs you most of what you would be suing for. The Maine Human Rights Act does not impose an exhaustion requirement, and 5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(C) sets a two-year deadline for the civil action without conditioning it on a commission filing. What 5 M.R.S. 4622(1) does is withhold attorney's fees under section 4614, civil penal damages, and compensatory and punitive damages from a plaintiff who did not first file with the commission and obtain one of four specified commission outcomes. The plaintiff carries the burden to allege and establish that those conditions were met.

What do I actually lose if I skip the Maine Human Rights Commission and sue anyway?

Attorney's fees, civil penal damages, and compensatory and punitive damages, under 5 M.R.S. 4622(1). Those are the categories that make a harassment case worth bringing and make it economically viable for a lawyer to take on. The remedies listed on the equitable side of 5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(B), such as an order to cease and desist or an order to employ or reinstate, are not named in the stripping provision, but exactly what would remain in your case is worth confirming with a Maine employment lawyer before you decide. There is also an upside to complying: 5 M.R.S. 4622(2) allows a plaintiff who establishes those conditions to have the action advanced on the docket and given priority over other civil actions.

Skipping the state commission in Maine does not close the courthouse, it deletes the attorney's fees and the damages you would be suing for.

Maine is a remedy-stripping state rather than an exhaustion state, and this is the fact to get right first. The Maine Human Rights Act never says you must exhaust, and 5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(C) lets you sue in Superior Court within two years whether or not you ever went to the commission. But 5 M.R.S. 4622(1) withholds attorney's fees under section 4614, civil penal damages, and compensatory and punitive damages from any plaintiff who did not file with the commission first. What survives is the equitable side of 4613(2)(B), such as a cease and desist order or an order to employ or reinstate, so confirm with a Maine employment lawyer exactly what would be left in your own case before you decide to skip the commission.

Relevant Laws

5 M.R.S. 4622(1): Filing With the Commission Is a Precondition to Fees and Damages

Attorney's fees, civil penal damages, and compensatory and punitive damages may not be awarded unless the plaintiff first filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission and the commission dismissed the case, failed within 90 days after a reasonable grounds finding to enter a conciliation agreement, issued a right-to-sue letter, or dismissed the case in error.

5 M.R.S. 4611: The 300-Day Trigger Has No Discovery or Last-Incident Alternative

The statute runs the 300 days from the alleged act of unlawful discrimination and says nothing about discovery, a continuing pattern, or a later termination date. For harassment spread over months, count from the earliest incident you want covered and get the start date confirmed by a Maine employment lawyer.

5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(C): Two Years to Commence the Civil Action

The action must be commenced not more than either two years after the act of unlawful discrimination complained of, or 90 days after any of the occurrences listed in 5 M.R.S. 4622(1)(A) to (D), whichever is later. This is the deadline that actually ends a Maine claim.

5 M.R.S. 4553(4): Any Number of Employees, Including Out-of-State Employers

Employer includes any person in this State employing any number of employees, and any person outside this State employing any number of employees whose usual place of employment is in this State. There is no headcount floor, and remote workers based in Maine are covered.

5 M.R.S. 4553(3) and 4553(4): The Two Narrow Employer Exclusions

An individual employed by that individual's parents, spouse or child is excluded, as is a non-profit religious or fraternal corporation as to employment of its own members of the same religion, sect or fraternity. Neither exclusion applies to disability discrimination.

Regional Variances

How Maine differs

Filing a charge is not by itself enough to

Filing a charge is not by itself enough to protect the damages. 5 M.R.S. 4622(1) requires the plaintiff to allege and establish that the commission also reached one of four outcomes before suit was filed: it dismissed the case, it failed within 90 days after finding reasonable grounds to enter into a conciliation agreement, it issued a right-to-sue letter, or it dismissed the case in error. Filing a charge one day and suing the next does not satisfy the statute. Where the route is a right-to-sue letter, 4622(1) adds that the plaintiff must establish the letter was received before the civil action was filed, so suing while the letter is in the mail forfeits the same damages.

Maine publishes both of its clocks in statute, which

Maine publishes both of its clocks in statute, which is unusual. 5 M.R.S. 4611 gives 300 days to file the sworn complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission. 5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(C) gives two years from the act of unlawful discrimination to commence the civil action, or 90 days after one of the commission outcomes in 4622(1)(A) to (D), whichever is later. Calendar both, and treat the 300 days as the money deadline and the two years as the claim deadline.

The 300-day trigger in Maine is bare and you

The 300-day trigger in Maine is bare and you should not assume it is generous. The text runs the clock from "the alleged act of unlawful discrimination" with no discovery alternative, no last-occurrence alternative for a pattern of conduct, and no reference to a termination date. For harassment that plays out over months, the statute alone does not tell you whether the clock starts at the first incident or the last. Count from the earliest incident you want covered, and ask a Maine employment lawyer before relying on a later date.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

5 M.R.S. 4553(3) and 4553(4): The Two Narrow Employer Exclusions

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5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(B)(7) and (8): Employer Size Decides Which Damages Are Available

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Compensatory and punitive damages are available in intentional employment discrimination cases against respondents with more than 14 employees. Civil penal damages are available other than in employment discrimination cases against a respondent with more than 14 employees.

5 M.R.S. 4572(1)(A): Protected Classes, Including Protection Order Status

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Covers race or color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, and familial status, plus a previous workers' compensation claim or right, actions protected under Maine's whistleblower law at 26 M.R.S. ch. 7, subch. 5-B, and having sought and received an order of protection.

26 M.R.S. 807: Annual Written Notice at Any Size, Training at 15 or More

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Every Maine employer must post the commission's sexual harassment poster and give each employee individual written notice annually. Employers with 15 or more employees in the workplace must also train all new employees within one year, with additional training for supervisors and managers. The Maine Department of Labor enforces these duties under 807(5).

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
5 M.R.S. 4553(3) and 4553(4): The Two Narrow Employer Exclusions	An individual employed by that individual's parents, spouse or child is excluded, as is a non-profit religious or fraternal corporation as to employment of its own members of the same religion, sect or fraternity. Neither exclusion applies to disability discrimination.	-	See your deadline
5 M.R.S. 4613(2)(B)(7) and (8): Employer Size Decides Which Damages Are Available	Compensatory and punitive damages are available in intentional employment discrimination cases against respondents with more than 14 employees. Civil penal damages are available other than in employment discrimination cases against a respondent with more than 14 employees.	-	See your deadline
5 M.R.S. 4572(1)(A): Protected Classes, Including Protection Order Status	Covers race or color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, and familial status, plus a previous workers' compensation claim or right, actions protected under Maine's whistleblower law at 26 M.R.S. ch. 7, subch. 5-B, and having sought and received an order of protection.	-	See your deadline
26 M.R.S. 807: Annual Written Notice at Any Size, Training at 15 or More	Every Maine employer must post the commission's sexual harassment poster and give each employee individual written notice annually. Employers with 15 or more employees in the workplace must also train all new employees within one year, with additional training for supervisors and managers. The Maine Department of Labor enforces these duties under 807(5).	-	See your deadline

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Maine guides

Adverse Possession in Maine: Twenty Years, and Which Kind of Land It Is

Asset Protection Planning in Maine (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Maine (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Maine (2026)

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Maine (2026)

Firing an Employee in Maine (2026)

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