subject: Maine Labor Law [print this page] Maine Labor Law Maine Labor Law
State labor laws, such as Maine labor law, can augment the rights of workers who are already protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Concerning the areas of vacation pay, overtime pay, and minimum wage, Maine wage and hour laws provide more extensive coverage for employees in the state of Maine.
Maine Vacation Pay
There is no law that guarantees paid vacation time to any Maine employee. Yet, if an employer enters into an agreement with you concerning paid vacation leave, they must abide by that agreement. If your employment is terminated, the vacation time that you have earned is considered part of your wages. You should be compensated accordingly in your last paycheck. Maine vacation pay is earned time that you should expect to be paid for.
Maine Overtime Law
Maine overtime law is similar to the Fair Labor Standards Act's guidelines: hours worked in excess of 40 for each workweek are compensable at 1.5 times a non-exempt employee's rate of regular hourly pay. A workweek is a 7-day, recurring period of 168 hours. Employers may not average the hours you've worked to determine overtime; each workweek is a standalone unit that determines the amount of overtime you should receive. For instance:
Week A You work 46 hours
Week B You are given a day off, and work 32 hours
In this example, you, the Maine employee, are entitled to all 8 hours of overtime pay for the first week, even though a day off was given the next week to make up for it.
Overtime may be required of you, but no more than 80 hours in two consecutive weeks.
Some employee types that are exempt from Maine overtime laws:
Mariners
Some drivers and drivers' helpers
Those involved in the processing, preserving canning, drying, freezing, marketing, packing for shipment, or storing of agricultural produce, meat or fish products, or perishable foods
Maine Minimum Wage Law
The state of Maine has a minimum wage of $7.50 an hour, higher than the U.S. minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. In cases where employees are covered by Maine labor law, they are entitled to the higher Maine minimum wage.
Tipped employees are also entitled to $7.50 an hour. Your tips may factor into this amount, but your employer may only count your tipped wages toward 50% of their minimum wage obligation. The other 50% must be paid as direct wages, i.e., at least $3.75 an hour. In cases where your tips are not enough to cover 50% of the minimum wage requirement, your employer must pay as much as is necessary to bring you up to the state minimum.
If you have been denied overtime, vacation pay, or minimum wage in the past, you may be able to get those wages back. USOvertimeLawyers.com has resources for Maine employees, including even more information on Maine state overtime law and a network of Maine overtime attorneys who can review your case and determine what back wages you may be owed.
