Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 39-A
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 39-A, § 408 (2026)

Waiver of right of action; minors

✓ current as of May 2026
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Except as provided in subsection 2, an employee of an employer who has secured the payment of compensation as provided in sections 401 to 407 is deemed to have waived the employee's right of action at common law and under section 104 to recover damages for the injuries sustained by the employee.   [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).]
1.  Legally employed minors.  A minor is deemed sui juris for the purpose of this Act if the minor's employer was not in violation of Title 26, section 771, 772 or 773‑A at the time of the minor's injury. No other person has any cause of action or right to compensation for an injury to that minor employee except as provided in this section.  
[PL 2017, c. 286, §11 (AMD).]
2.  Illegally employed minors.  A minor is not deemed to have waived the minor's right of action at common law and under section 104 if the minor's employer was in violation of Title 26, section 771, 772 or 773‑A at the time of the minor's injury.  
A. The minor employee, the minor's parent or guardian or any other person, as permitted by common law or statute, may file a civil action permitted under this subsection.   [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).]
B. The minor employee is entitled to compensation under this Act in addition to any right of action permitted under this subsection.   [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).]
C. If the employer is self-insured for liability under this Act, any award received by the minor in an action permitted under this subsection must be reduced by the amount of compensation received under this Act.   [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).]
D. If the employer is insured for liability under this Act, the employer is considered a 3rd party under section 107, and the employer's insurer is entitled to all rights of subrogation, contribution or other rights granted to an employer under section 107.   [PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §§9-11 (AFF).]
[PL 2017, c. 286, §11 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1991, c. 885, §A8 (NEW). PL 1991, c. 885, §§A9-11 (AFF). PL 2017, c. 286, §11 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases, 1994–2017 · leading case: Li v. C.N. Brown Co., 645 A.2d 606 (Me. 1994).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Li v. C.N. Brown Co., 645 A.2d 606 (Me. 1994). · cites it 4× “§ 4 (1989), repealed and replaced by 39-A M.R.S.A. § 104 (Pamph.1993); 39 M.”
Hawkes v. Com. Union Ins., 2001 ME 8 (Me. 2001). “§ 104, and that employees who have secured compensation under the Act are deemed to have waived any common law action against the employer, 39-A M.R.S.A. § 408. 3 The former provision is considered to be the immunity provision, and the latter is the exclusivity provision.”
Bond Builders, Inc. v. Com. Union Ins., 670 A.2d 1388 (Me. 1996). “Pursuant to 39-A M.R.S.A. § 408, an “employee of an employer who has secured the payment of compensation as provided in sections 401 to 407 is deemed to have waived the employee’s right of action at common law and under section 104 to recover damages for the injuries sustained…”
Breton v. Travelers Ins., 147 F.3d 58 (1st Cir. 1998). “Me.Rev.Stat. Ann. tit. 39-A, § 408 provides that, except for illegally employed minors, "an employee of an employer who has secured the payment of compensation as provided in [the Act] is deemed to have waived the employee's right of action at common law and under section 104 to…”
Lavoie v. Gervais, 713 A.2d 335 (Me. 1998). “39-A M.R.S.A. § 408 (Supp.1997) provides in part; Except as provided in subsection 2, an employee of an employer who has secured the payment of compensation as provided in sections 401 to 407 is deemed to have waived the employee's right of action at common law and under section…”
Searway v. Rainey, 709 A.2d 735 (Me. 1998). “39-A M.R.S.A. § 408 (Supp.1997) provides in relevant part: Except as provided in subsection 2 [concerning illegally employed minors], an employee of an employer who has secured the payment of compensation as provided in sections 401 to 407 is deemed to have waived the employee’s…”
Int'l Paper Co. v. a & a BROCHU, 899 F. Supp. 715 (D. Me. 1995). “§ 28; 39-A M.R.S.A. § 408; see also Li v. C.N. Brown Co.”
Samson v. DiConzo, 669 A.2d 760 (Me. 1996). “39-A M.R.S.A. § 408 provides, in part: Except as provided in subsection 2, an employee of an employer who has secured the payment of compensation as provided in sections 401 to 407 is deemed to have waived the employee’s right of action at common law and under section 104 to…”
Gallagher v. Penobscot Cmty. Healthcare (Me. Super. Ct 2017). · cites it 2× “Alternatively, Defendants argue that the exclusivity of the Workers' Compensation Act bars all of Plaintiff's tort claims and/or that Plaintiff has failed to adequately allege a cause of action. Dr. Gallagher's breach of contract claim (Count VIII) is not affected by the MHRA or…”
Clark v. Means (Me. Super. Ct 2002). “§ 104 (providing immunity to employers against employees’ civil claims arising out of and in the course of employment) and 39-A M.R.S.A. § 408 (providing for a waiver of common law civil claims by employees who have secured worker's compensation benefits).”
Wessner v. Montgomery (Me. Super. Ct 2003). “The question presented here is whether the defendant is statutorily immunized from civil liability, notwithstanding his denials of the plaintiff’s factual allegations.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.