Minimum Wage Law Summaries
Maine, Minimum Wage Law Summaries
Maine's minimum wage law is codified in the Maine Revised Statutes at Title 26, Chapter 7, Subchapter III. The full text of the law is available at Wages-Hours ¶20-41,001 .
DEFINITIONS
“Employee” is any individual employed or permitted to work by an employer, but the following employees are exempt from the minimum wage law (Sec. 663(3), as last amended by S. 260, L. 2009, effective May 11, 2009):
agricultural employees, except when providing services or employed by a farm with over 300,000 laying birds;
employees whose earnings are derived in whole or in part from sales commissions and whose hours and places of employment are not substantially controlled by the employer;
taxicab drivers;
employees who are counselors or junior counselors or counselors-in-training at organized camps licensed under Title 22, section 2495 and those employees of organized camps and similar seasonal recreation programs not requiring such licensure that are operated as or by nonprofit organizations who are under 18 years of age;
individuals employed in the fishing industry, including catching, taking, propagating, harvesting, cultivating or farming of any kind of fish, shellfish, crustacea, sponges, seaweeds or other aquatic forms of animal and vegetable life, or in the first processing, canning or packing of marine products at sea as incident to, or in conjunction with, fishing operations, including the going to and returning from work, and including employment in the loading and unloading when performed by the employees;
switchboard operators in public telephone exchanges that have less than 750 stations;
home workers who are not subject to supervision or control; or who buy raw material and make, complete and sell articles, even though they may be made according to specifications and the requirements of a single purchaser;
members of the employers' family who reside with and are dependent upon the employer; and
salaried employees who work in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity and whose regular compensation, when converted to an annual rate, exceeds 3000 times the state's minimum hourly wage or the annualized rate established by the U.S. Department of Labor under the FLSA, whichever is higher.
“Public employees” are employees within the meaning of the minimum wage law and include persons whose wages are paid by a state or local public employer, including the state, a county, a municipality, the University of Maine System, a school administrative unit and any other political body or its political or administrative subdivision. However, “public employee” does not include any officer or official elected by popular vote or appointed to office (Sec. 663, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Service employee” means any employee engaged in an occupation, such as waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel and bartenders who serve customers, in which the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips (Sec. 663(8), as amended by Ch. 367 (H. 1068), L. 2007, effective September 20, 2007).
“Wages” paid to any employee includes compensation paid to the employee in the form of legal tender of the United States and checks on banks convertible into cash on demand and includes the reasonable cost to the employer who furnishes the employee who furnishes the employee board or lodging. The term also includes compensation paid through a direct deposit system, automated teller machine card or other means of electronic transfer as long as the employee either can make an initial withdrawal of the entire net pay without additional cost to the employee or the employee can choose another means of payment that involves no additional cost to the employee (Sec. 663(5), as amended by P.L. 89 (H. 673), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
COVERAGE
All employees, except those in certain occupations as explained below, are covered by Maine's minimum wage law (Sec. 663, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
EXCEPTIONS
Agricultural employees; commissioned salespersons; taxicab drivers; camp counselors; fishing industry employees; switchboard operators; home workers; employees who are family members living with and dependent upon the employer; executive, administrative or professional employees, are not covered by Maine's minimum wage law (Sec. 663, as amended by S. 260, L. 2009, effective May 11, 2009).
WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO
Effective October 1, 2008, the minimum hourly wage is $7.25 per hour. Starting October 1, 2009, the minimum wage is $7.50 per hour. If the highest federal minimum wage is increased in excess of the minimum wage in effect under this section, the minimum wage under this section is increased to the same amount, effective on the same date as the increase in the federal minimum wage, but in no case may the minimum wage exceed the minimum wage otherwise in effect under this section by more than $1.00 per hour (Sec. 664, as amended by Ch. 640 (S. 604), L. 2007, effective July 18, 2008).
Board and lodging.- Wages paid to an employee include the reasonable cost to the employer of board and lodging furnished to the employee (Sec. 663, as amended by P.L. 89 (H. 673), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
Tipped employee credit.- An employer may consider tips as part of the wages of a service employee, but the tip credit may not exceed 50 percent of the minimum hourly wage. An employer that elects to use the tip credit must inform the employee in advance and must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum hourly wage when direct wages and the tip credit are combined. Upon a satisfactory showing by the employee or the employee's representative that the actual tips received were less than the tip credit, the employer will increase the direct wages by the difference (Sec. 664(2), as amended by Ch. 367 (H. 1068), L. 2007, effective September 20, 2007).
Effective September 20, 2007, the tips received by a service employee become the property of the employee and may not be shared with the employer. Service employees may volunteer to pool their tips to be split among other service employees or may volunteer to share a part of their tips with other employees who do not generally receive tips directly from customers. Tips that are automatically included in the customer's bill or that are charged to a credit card must be given to the service employee. A tip that is charged to a credit card must be paid by the employer to the employee by the next regular payday and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from a credit card company (Sec. 664(2), as amended by Ch. 367 (H. 1068), L. 2007, effective September 20, 2007).
Wages-special circumstances.- Members of municipal firefighting departments, other than volunteer or call-departments, who are paid salaries or regular wages, are employees. Firefighters' wages may be paid by the municipality based upon the average number of hours worked during any one work cycle that may not exceed 12 weeks in duration (Sec. 663, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
Subminimum wages.- For any employment in which the minimum wage is applicable, the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards may issue special certificates to anyone physically “handicapped” by age, or otherwise, authorizing employment for a period not to exceed one year at subminimum wages. The license may be renewed from time to time by the director (Sec. 666).
For any occupation within the scope of the minimum wage law, the director may issue a special certificate authorizing employment at subminimum wages, and for a fixed period of time as stated in the certificate, to an employer of any learner, or of an employee under an approved apprentice training program (Sec. 667).
Agreements.- No employer may enter into a special contract with an employee or use any other means to exempt itself from the minimum wage law (Sec. 672).
NOTICE
Every employer covered by Maine's minimum wage law must keep a summary of the law, furnished by the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards, without charge, posted in a conspicuous place, in or about the premises where any person covered by the law is employed, or in a place accessible to its employees (Sec. 668).
ENFORCEMENT
Investigatory authority.- The Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards or an authorized representative may, and upon written complaint, must enter the employer's place of business or employment in Maine to examine, inspect and copy the records (Sec. 665(1), as amended by P.L. 89 (H. 673), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
Confidential records.- All information received by the director and authorized representatives is considered confidential and may not be divulged to any other person or agency, except as may be necessary for the enforcement of the minimum wage law (Sec. 665(1), as amended by P.L. 89 (H. 673), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
Court actions.- The Attorney General may institute injunction proceedings in the superior court to enjoin further violations of Maine's minimum wage law (Sec. 665).
An employer is liable to an employee for the amount of unpaid minimum wages. In the action brought to recover unpaid wages, the judgment will include unpaid wages, an additional amount equal to the unpaid wages as liquidated damages, and costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee (Sec. 670).
WHO TO CONTACT
Contact the Commissioner of the Labor Department, 20 Union St., P.O. Box 309, Augusta, ME 04332-0309. Telephone: (207) 287-3788. Fax: (207) 287-5292. The Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards is located at the same address and may be reached by telephone at (207) 624-6400 and by fax at (207) 624-6449.
RECORDKEEPING
Every employer subject to Maine's minimum wage law must keep a true and accurate record of the hours worked by each employee and of the wages paid. These records must be preserved for at least three years. Additionally, each employee must be furnished with a statement that clearly shows the date of the pay period, the hours, total earnings and itemized deductions with each payment of wages. An employer making payment by direct deposit or other means of electronic transfer shall provide each employee with an accurate record of the transfer, including the date of the pay period, the hours, total earnings and itemized deductions, when the transfer is made. If the record is provided in an electronic format, the employer shall provide a method by which the employee may have ready access to the information and print it without cost to the employee (Sec. 665(1), as amended by P.L. 89 (H. 673), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
POSTING
Every employer covered by Maine's minimum wage law must keep a summary of the law, furnished by the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards, without charge, posted in a conspicuous place, in or about the premises where any person covered by the law is employed, or in a place accessible to its employees (Sec. 668). See ¶20-9900 .
PENALTIES
Any employer who violates Maine's minimum wage law will, on conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $200 (Sec. 671).
Discrimination.- An employer that discharges or in any other manner discriminates against an employee because the employee makes a complaint to the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards or to the county attorney concerning a violation of Maine's minimum wage law will be punished by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $200 (Sec. 671).
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