Wage Payment Law Summaries
Maine, Wage Payment Law Summaries
Maine's wage payment law is codified in the Maine Revised Statutes at Title 26, Chapter 7, Subchapter II. The full text of the law is available at Wages-Hours ¶20-46,001 .
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions apply only to the severance pay provisions of Maine's wage payment law.
“Employer” means any person who directly or indirectly owns and operates a covered establishment. For purposes of this definition, a parent corporation is considered the indirect owner and operator of any covered establishment that is directly owned and operated by its corporate subsidiary (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Covered establishment” means any industrial or commercial facility or part thereof that employs or has employed at any time in the preceding 12-month period 100 or more persons (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Person” means any individual, group of individuals, partnership, corporation, association or any other entity (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Relocation” means the removal of all or substantially all of industrial or commercial operations in a covered establishment to a new location, within or without the state of Maine, 100 or more miles distant from its original location (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Termination” means the substantial cessation of industrial or commercial operations in a covered establishment (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Week's pay” means an amount equal to 1/52nd part of the gross wages paid to an employee during the 12 months prior to relocation or termination (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
“Overcompensation” means any compensation paid to an employee that is greater than that to which the employee is entitled under the compensation system established by the employer, but does not include fringe benefits, awards, bonuses, settlements or insurance proceeds in respect to or in lieu of compensation, expense reimbursements, commissions or draws or advances against compensation (Sec. 635).
WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO
Frequency of payment.- At regular intervals not to exceed 16 days, every employer must pay in full all wages earned by each employee. Each payment must include all wages earned to within eight days of the payment date. An employee who is absent from work at a time fixed for payment must be paid on demand after that time (Sec. 621-A(1), as amended by P.L. 103 (H. 479), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
Wages must be paid on an established day or date at regular intervals made known to the employee. When the interval is less than the maximum allowed by Sec. 621-A(1) above, the interval may not be increased without written notice to the employee at least 30 days in advance of the increase (Sec. 621-A(2), as added by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
Section 621-A (above) does not apply to family members and salaried employees, nor to an employee of a cooperative corporation or association if the employee is a stockholder of the corporation or association, unless he or she asks to be paid in accordance with Sec. 621-A (Sec. 623, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
As an exemption to biweekly pay requirements, municipal fire departments may make payments owed to volunteer firefighters at regular intervals not to exceed six months (Sec. 621-A, as amended by Ch. 126 (S. 398), L. 2005).
Direct deposit.- See ¶20-1000 ).
Change in rate of pay.- Notwithstanding the provision of Sec. 623 exempting salaried employees, payment of wages or salary must be made at the rate previously established by the employer, except that the employer may decrease the rate of pay, effective the next working day, if the employer gives notice to all affected employees prior to the change. When an employer has temporarily increased an employee's wage rate to comply with state or federal prevailing wage requirements or other applicable federal or state law, an employer need not provide advance notice prior to returning the employee to the employee's regular wage rate, as long as the employer is in compliance with all posting and notice provisions of the applicable law (Sec. 621-A(5), as added by P.L. 18 (H. 196), L. 2005, enacted April 1, 2005, and as amended by P.L. 103 (H. 479), L. 2005, enacted May 12, 2005).
Payment upon discharge.- An employee leaving employment, other than an independent contractor, must be paid in full within a reasonable time after demand (earlier of either the next day on which employees would regularly be paid or a day not more than two weeks after the day on which the demand is made) at the office of the employer where payrolls are kept and wages are paid, provided that any overcompensation may be withheld if authorized under Maine's wage payment law and any loan or advance against future earnings or wages may be deducted if evidenced by a statement in writing signed by the employee (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
Severance pay.- Any employer who relocates or terminates a covered establishment is liable to its employees for severance pay at the rate of one week's pay for each year of employment by the employee in that establishment. The severance pay to eligible employees is in addition to any final wage payment to the employee and must be paid within one regular pay period after the employee's last full day of work, notwithstanding any other provisions of law (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
There is no liability for severance pay to an eligible employee if (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999):
relocation or termination of a covered establishment is necessitated by a physical calamity;
the employee is covered by an express contract providing for severance pay that is equal to or greater than the severance pay required by this law;
that employee accepts employment at the new location; or
that employee has been employed by the employer for less than three years.
Payment when employee quits.- An employee leaving employment, other than an independent contractor, must be paid in full within a reasonable time after demand (earlier of either the next day on which employees would regularly be paid or a day not more than two weeks after the day on which the demand is made) at the office of the employer where payrolls are kept and wages are paid, provided that any overcompensation may be withheld if authorized under Maine's wage payment law and any loan or advance against future earnings or wages may be deducted if evidenced by a statement in writing signed by the employee (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
Payment for vacation.- In the event of the sale of a business, the seller may enter into a specific agreement with the buyer in which the buyer agrees to honor any paid vacation earned under the seller's vacation policy (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
Wage statements.- Every railroad corporation in Maine must furnish each of its employees who are operating personnel working on a train with a statement with every payment of wages, listing accrued total earnings and taxes to date, and must further furnish employees at the same time with a separate listing of their daily wages and how they were computed (Sec. 633).
Overcompensation.- An employer who has overcompensated an employee through employer error may not withhold more than 10 percent of the net amount of any subsequent pay without the employee's written permission, except that, if the employee voluntarily terminates employment, the employer may deduct the full amount of overcompensation from any wages due (Sec. 635).
If an employer with over 25 employees who has overcompensated an employee through employer error withholds the improper amount from an employee's subsequent pay, the employer forfeits any claim to the overcompensation. If an employer with 25 or fewer employees knows of the 10-percent limitation described above and violates it, that employer forfeits any claim to the overcompensation. Employers of 25 or fewer employees who do not know of the 10-percent limitation and who violate it must return all money withheld in excess of that permitted within three days of written or oral demand by the employee, or forfeit any claim to the overcompensation (Sec. 635).
The above provisions do not apply if an employee knowingly accepts the overcompensation (Sec. 635).
Unfair agreements.- A person, firm or corporation may not require or permit any person as a condition of securing or retaining employment to work without monetary compensation, or when having an agreement, oral, written or implied, that a part of such compensation should be returned to the person, firm or corporation for any reason other than for the payment of a loan, debt or advance made to the person, or for the payment of any merchandise purchased from the employer or for sick or accident benefits, or life or group insurance premiums, excluding compensation insurance, which an employee has agreed to pay, or for rent, light or water expense of a company-owned house or building. This does not apply to work performed in agriculture or in or about a private home (Sec. 629(1), as amended by Ch. 524 (H. 1574), L. 2007, effective June 30, 2008).
For the purposes of payment of wages, the term “debt” means a benefit to the employee. “Debt” does not include items incurred by the employee in the course of the employee's work or dealing with the customers on the employer's behalf, such as cash shortages, inventory shortages, dishonored checks, dishonored credit cards, damages to the employer's property in any form or any merchandise purchased by a customer. “Debt” does not include uniforms, personal protective equipment or other tools of the trade that are considered to be primarily for the benefit and convenience of the employer. “Uniforms” here means shirts or other items of clothing bearing the company's name or logo. The employer may not mandate that an employee pay for the cleaning and maintenance of a uniform, but may have a written agreement whereby the employee chooses to have a payroll deduction for the cost of the cleaning and maintenance (Sec. 629(2), as amended by Ch. 524 (H. 1574), L. 2007, effective June 30, 2008).
An employer is liable to an employee for the amount returned to the employer by that employee where prohibited (Sec. 629(3), as amended by Ch. 524 (H. 1574), L. 2007, effective June 30, 20087).
Public employers may deduct service fees owed by an employee to a collective bargaining agent from the employee's pay, without signed authorization from the employee, and remit those fees to the bargaining agent, as long as (Sec. 629(4), as amended by Ch. 524 (H. 1574), L. 2007, effective June 30, 2008):
The fee obligation arises from a lawfully executed and implemented collective bargaining agreement; and
In the event a fee payor owes any arrears on the payor's fee obligations, the authorized deduction may include an installment on a payment plan to reimburse all arrears, but may not exceed in each pay period 10% of the gross pay owed.
Payment upon sale of business.- Within two weeks after the sale of a business, the seller of the business must pay employees of that business any wages earned while employed by the seller. If the terms of employment include provisions for paid vacations, vacation pay on cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned. The seller of a business may comply with these provisions through a specific agreement with the buyer in which the buyer agrees to pay any wages earned by employees through employment with the seller and to honor any paid vacation earned under the seller's vacation policy (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
NOTICE
Forfeiture of wages/Payment upon discharge/Payment when employee quits.- Employers engaged in any manufacturing or mechanical business may contract with employees to give one week's notice of intention on such employee's part to quit under a penalty of forfeiture of one week's wages. In such case, the employer must give a like notice of intention to discharge the employee, and on failure, must pay to such employee a sum equal to one week's wages. No such forfeiture may be enforced when the leaving or discharge of the employee is for a reasonable cause (Sec. 625).
DEADLINES
Payment upon discharge.- An employee leaving employment, other than an independent contractor, must be paid in full within a reasonable time after demand (earlier of either the next day on which employees would regularly be paid or a day not more than two weeks after the day on which the demand is made (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
Payment when employee quits.- An employee leaving employment, other than an independent contractor, must be paid in full within a reasonable time after demand (earlier of either the next day on which employees would regularly be paid or a day not more than two weeks after the day on which the demand is made (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
POLICIES
Payment for vacation.- In the event of the sale of a business, the seller may enter into a specific agreement with the buyer in which the buyer agrees to honor any paid vacation earned under the seller's vacation policy (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
ENFORCEMENT
Failure to pay wages.- An action for unpaid wages in connection with cessation of employment may be brought by the affected employee or employees or by the Department of Labor on behalf of the employee or employees (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
An action for unpaid wages may be brought by either the affected employee or employees or by the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor is further authorized to supervise the payment of the judgment, collect the judgment on behalf of the employee or employees and collect fines incurred through violation of Maine's wage payment law (Sec. 626-A, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
Severance pay.- Action to recover severance pay liability may be maintained against any employer in any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees for and on behalf of himself or themselves and any other employees similarly situated. Any labor organization may also maintain an action on behalf of its members (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
The Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards is authorized to supervise the payment of the unpaid severance pay owing to any employee. The director may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the amount of any unpaid severance pay. The right to bring an action by or on behalf of any employee, and of any employee to become a party plaintiff to any such action, terminates upon the filing of a complaint by the director, unless the action is dismissed without prejudice by the director (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
WHO TO CONTACT
Contact the Department of Labor at 20 Union Street, P.O. Box 309, Augusta, ME 04332-0309. Telephone: (207) 287-3788; Fax: (207) 287-5292.
Contact the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards at (207) 624-6400.
RECORDKEEPING
Every employer must keep a true record showing the date and amount paid to each employee. Every employer must keep a daily record of the time worked by each such employee unless the employee is paid a salary that is fixed without regard for the number of hours worked. Records required to be kept by this section must be accessible to any representative of the Department of Labor at any reasonable hour. These provisions do not apply to family members and salaried employees, nor to an employee of a cooperative corporation or association if the employee is a stockholder of the corporation or association (Secs. 622 and 623, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
Severance pay.- In any investigation or proceeding relating to severance pay, the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards, in addition to all other powers granted by law, has the authority to examine books and records of employers (Sec. 625-B).
POSTING
See ¶20-9900 .
PENALTIES
Whoever violates any of the provisions of Maine's wage payment law relating to frequency of payment, recordkeeping, cessation of employment, or unfair agreements is subject to a forfeiture of not less than $100 nor more than $500 for each violation (Sec. 626-A, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
Upon a judgment being rendered in favor of any employee or employees in an action brought to recover unpaid wages, such judgment includes, in addition to the unpaid wages adjudged to be due, a reasonable rate of interest, costs of suit, and an additional amount equal to twice the amount of unpaid wages as liquidated damages (Sec. 626-A, as amended by P.L. 465 (H. 214), L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
Payment upon discharge.- An employer found in violation of the provisions of Maine's wage payment law relating to cessation of employment is liable for the amount of unpaid wages and, in addition, the judgment rendered in favor of the employee or employees must include a reasonable rate of interest, an additional amount equal to twice the amount of those wages as liquidated damages and costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
Severance pay.- Any employer who violates the severance pay provisions of Maine's wage payment law is liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their unpaid severance pay (Sec. 625-B, as amended by S. 156, L. 1999, effective September 18, 1999).
See also ¶20-3500 .
Payment when employee quits.- An employer found in violation of the provisions of Maine's wage payment law relating to cessation of employment is liable for the amount of unpaid wages and, in addition, the judgment rendered in favor of the employee or employees must include a reasonable rate of interest, an additional amount equal to twice the amount of those wages as liquidated damages and costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee (Sec. 626, as amended by Ch. 580, L. 1996).
Wage statements.- Any railroad corporation that fails to furnish the required wage statements to its employees commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $100 may be adjudged for each offense (Sec. 633).
<p>Wage statements.— Any railroad corporation that fails to furnish the required wage statements to its employees commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture </p>