This article covers:
- What are Maine Time Management Laws?
- What are the Hiring, Working & Termination Laws in Maine?
- Maine Payment Laws
- What are Maine Overtime Laws?
- Maine Break Laws
- What are Maine Leave Laws?
- Maine Child Labor Laws
- Updates to Maine Labor Laws in 2025
What are Maine Time Management Laws?
In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets laws to manage the time spent by employees in the workplace, safeguarding their rights and guaranteeing fair pay for their efforts. These laws act as directives for employers, keeping them in check, and minimizing any forms of abuse or exploitation.
Maine labor laws provide stricter guidelines for time and employee management in the workplace. A brief overview of minimum wage, overtime and break laws in the state are as follows:
Minimum Wage | $14.65 per hour |
Overtime Pay |
|
Break Laws | A 30-minute rest period required after six consecutive hours of work |
Employers who contravene time management laws face severe legal ramifications, including fines, back pay, and damages. If workers feel that their employer has violated federal time management laws, they can file complaints with the State of Maine Department of Labor for investigation and legal action.
What are the Hiring, Working & Termination Laws in Maine?
The Maine Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from engaging in discriminatory practices during the hiring process. The following characteristics are protected under the Act:
Employers in Maine cannot pay their working employees different wages solely due to their gender. Furthermore, employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees for discussing their wages with peers.
In Maine, employment contracts operate according to the “employment-at-will” policy, which means that both the employer and employee have the right to terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason excluding discriminatory or illegal reasons. This policy applies to most employees unless stated otherwise in their contractual agreement.
After termination of employment, the employer must provide the employee’s final paycheck by the next scheduled payday. When a company with over 100 employees shuts down or moves, they may offer severance pay to their former workers.
This should be part of their last paycheck and calculated based on their length of employment, with one week’s pay for each year worked and partial pay for a partial year. Calculations start from the last complete month of employment.
The following are some important labor laws that govern employment relations in Maine:What Are the Key Labor Laws in Maine?
Maine Payment Laws
What is the Minimum Wage in Maine?
A minimum wage is the lowest pay that an employer is mandated by law to pay an employee for work performed in a specific time. As of January 1, 2025, the State of Maine Department of Labor has increased the minimum wage of Maine to $14.65 per hour.
What is a Tipped Employee’s Minimum Wage in Maine?
Beginning January 1, 2025, employees who regularly earn over $185 in tips per month are classified as tipped employees in Maine. Such employees can be paid a reduced cash wage of $7.33 per hour, with a tip credit of $7.32 retained by the employer.
Employers in Maine must ensure that a tipped employee’s earnings at the end of a workweek, including tips, average to equal minimum wage requirements set by state law. If not, the employer is required to make up the difference.
Certain jobs in Maine are exempted from the minimum wage law including:
In Maine, employees must be paid no later than every 16 days. The pay schedule should be consistent and cannot be changed without informing the employee one day beforehand.
According to Maine overtime laws, any work exceeding 40 hours in a week counts as overtime and should be compensated at 1.5 times the regular rate. It’s also not permitted for employers to require employees to work over 80 hours of overtime for two continuous weeks.
Exceptions to overtime laws can be made in the following cases: Learn more in detail about Maine Salaried Employees Laws and Maine Overtime Laws. What are the Exceptions to Minimum Wage in Maine?
What is the Payment Due Date in Maine?
What are Maine Overtime Laws?
For minimum wage workers, overtime pay stands at $21.975 per hour as of January 1, 2025. For a deeper understanding of your overtime rights, read our detailed article on overtime rights in Maine. What are the Overtime Exemptions in Maine?
Maine Break Laws
What are Maine Meal Break Laws?
Employers with three or more employees must provide their workers a 30-minute rest break for six consecutive hours of work. This break is compensated unless the employee decides to take an unpaid meal break, in which case they must completely be relieved of their duties.
Employers can require employees to stay on work premises for the duration of the break.
What are Maine Breastfeeding Laws?
Maine law ensures nursing employees are allowed to express breast milk in the workplace for up to 3 years after giving birth. Employers must provide an unpaid break or allow employees to use their paid break time for this purpose.
Furthermore, the employer is responsible for providing a clean, private location, that is not a toilet stall and a reasonable amount of time to express milk. Nursing employees are protected from retaliation for expressing milk at the workplace.
The following are the required leave types that Maine employers must provide to their employees:
The following are the official public holidays that will be observed in Maine in 2025: *This list does not apply to employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. What are Maine Leave Laws?
What Public Holidays are Observed in Maine?
Official Holiday in Maine
Day and Date
New Year’s Day
Wednesday, 1 January
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, 20 January
Washington’s Birthday/ President’s Day
Monday, 17 February
Patriot’s Day
Monday, 21 April
Memorial Day
Monday, 26 May
Juneteenth
Thursday, 19 June
Independence Day
Friday, 4 July
Labor Day
Monday, 1 September
Indigenous Peoples Day
Monday, 13 October
Veterans Day
Tuesday, 11 November
Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, 27 November
Thanksgiving Friday
Friday, 28 November
Christmas Day
Thursday, 25 December
Maine Child Labor Laws
Child labor laws in Maine ensure that minors employed in the workforce are protected from workplace exploitation. With priority placed on a minor’s education, these laws outline a minor’s minimum age of employment, work permit requirements, work hour schedules, and banned occupations for employment.
What is a Minor in Maine?
An individual or youth under the age of 18 is considered a minor in Maine.
The minimum age of employment in Maine is 14. Minors younger than 14 can be employed in agriculture for harvesting and cultivation without the use of dangerous machinery. They can also be employed to serve food and clean up in school lunch programs or in a business run by their parents.
Work Permits for Minors in Maine
Minors aged 16 and under must obtain a work permit before securing employment in Maine. Only one work permit is allowed at a time, except during summer break, when a minor can maintain two. Work permits are not required for minors employed in agriculture.
Work permits are issued by school superintendents and must be verified by the Bureau of Labor Standards before the minor begins work.
Generally, minors aged 14 to 17 are not allowed to work more than six days a week. Moreover, these children cannot be scheduled to work before 7 a.m. on a school day. When school is in session: During summer break: When school is in session: During summer break:
In Maine, minors under 18 are prohibited from employment in certain occupations including: Furthermore, minors under the age of 16 cannot be employed as: What are the Working Hours for Minors in Maine?
Further details about work hour scheduling for minors are as follows: For Minors Aged 14 and 15
For Minors Aged 16 and 17
What Jobs are Banned for Minors in Maine?
Learn more in detail about Maine Child Labor Laws.
Updates to Maine Labor Laws in 2025
1. Minimum Wage and Overtime Exemption Updates
- Minimum wage for all employees increased: Starting January 1, 2025, all employees in Maine are entitled to an increased minimum wage of $14.65 per hour. Tipped employees in the state must be paid a reduced cash wage of $7.33, while an employer can retain $7.32 as tip credit.
- Overtime pay exemption threshold increased: Employees who earn at least $845.21 per week or more will not be eligible for overtime pay in Maine. Maine’s overtime exemption threshold is lower than federal requirements. which requires exempt employees to be paid at least $1,128 (or $58,656 annually).
2. Criterion for Tipped Employees Updated
- Tip earning requirement for tipped employees increased: As of January 1, 2025, any worker who earns more than $185 in tips monthly is classified as a tipped worker and is covered under tipped minimum wage laws in Maine. Previously, this threshold was set at $179 per month.
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