All American states are required to abide by the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal regulation.
This code establishes rules for common labor difficulties, such as overtime and minimum wage.
All states must follow the FLSA and other federal labor laws, but they are also free to enact their own state laws that raise the minimum wage and provide other legal protections.
Individual employers in Maine decide what counts as full-time versus part-time employment. While many firms provide benefits to part-time workers, doing so is not required, and others exclusively provide benefits to full-time workers.
The current minimum wage in Maine is $12.75 per hour, according to the State of Maine Department of Labor.
Maine’s Minimum Tipped Wage (Service Employees)
According to Maine law, “service workers” are those employees who consistently get more than $30 in tips each month.
Service workers (tipped workers) are entitled to the tipped minimum wage, which is $6.38 per hour in Maine.
The amount that the employer is required to pay the employee directly in wages is this.
Additionally, the employer must demonstrate that when direct earnings and tips are added together, the employee makes at least the minimum wage.
Maine’s Subminimum Wage (Training Wage)
Employers in Maine are permitted by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to pay employees under the age of 20 what is known as a “training wage.”
This means that employers are permitted to pay employees a subminimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 days of their employment.
Maine repealed the rule allowing firms to pay disabled workers less than the minimum wage in the middle of 2020.
Portland Minimum Wage
Portland, Maine city’s minimum wage is $13 as of January 1st, 2022.
Additionally, the Portland City Council has decreed that during times of public emergency, all Portland employees should be paid 1.5 times their hourly wage. These are referred to as “hazard pay” clauses.
Portland City’s minimum wage includes tips.
In Portland, service workers (tipped workers) are entitled to a minimum salary of $9.75 per hour.
The minimal amount of tips that can be received in all other parts of Maine each month is $30.
Take note that there is a distinction for those who are classified as “service employees.”
The minimal requirement in Portland, Oregon, is $100 in tips each month.
Employees in Maine must get payments every 16 days or less.
Furthermore, the payday must be planned regularly, and the pay interval cannot be extended without giving the employee advance notice.
The employee is entitled to receive their complete salary earned no earlier than 8 days before the payday on the normal payment day (or the following working day).
If an employee works more than 40 hours a week, their employer must pay them overtime at a rate of 1 1/2 of their usual wage unless they are exempt from this requirement. Mariners (sailors), employees of the government, those employed in agriculture, and anyone involved in the packing of food goods are all examples of exempt employees.
Maine’s Exclusions and Limitations on Overtime
Laws governing overtime are exempt in the following situations:
Additionally, paid workers (administrative, professional, and executive) who earn at least $735.59 per week are free from overtime laws.
There are exceptions for seasonal workers, medical interns, and those who work for companies that shut down for annual maintenance.
After working for six straight hours, employees in Maine are entitled to at least 30 minutes of respite.
Unless the worker elects to utilize this time as an unpaid food break, this is a compensated rest period.
The employee must be released from all obligations in this situation.
Exceptions
In situations where there is an emergency and a risk to people’s lives, property, or health, exceptions to the rule can be made.
Additionally, small enterprises, those with less than three employees on duty at once, and those where the nature of the work permits more frequent, shorter breaks are exempt from the obligation for breaks.
For up to three years following childbirth, nursing employees in Maine are entitled to appropriate accommodations for expressing breast milk at work.
The employer must also make an effort to give the employee enough time and a clean, private space (which cannot be a restroom stall) in which to breastfeed
If a resident of Maine does not have access to health insurance through their work, the Maine Department of Health can assist them. Every citizen of the United States is required by law to have health insurance, or else they will be subject to a federal tax penalty. The Affordable Care Act requires this.
The Main Human Rights Act is an addition to federal civil rights statutes that forbid workplace discrimination based on personal traits. It forbids discrimination based on any of the following factors: race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, mental or physical impairment, or sexual orientation.
Maine employers are not obligated by state law to provide the following:
Employers in Maine are not legally compelled to grant paid or unpaid leave for any of the categories above, but they are free to do so. Employees must be given time off for jury duty, but they are not obligated to be compensated for it.
Additionally, companies must provide unpaid leave to any employee who meets the criteria for federal medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Employees in Maine who work in businesses with more than ten staff members will be entitled to earned paid time off as of January 1st, 2021.
One hour of leave is accrued for every forty hours worked, up to a maximum of forty hours per year.
Any circumstance may warrant up to 40 hours of this leave in a calendar year.
Additionally, earned paid leave of up to 40 hours can be carried over from one year to the next.
The employer can be compelled to give up to 4 weeks’ notice unless the need for the absence is urgent.
According to Maine law, workers are permitted to take up to 10 weeks of unpaid family medical leave over the course of two years if:
Employees who have been with the same company for at least 12 months and who work in organizations with 15 or more employees are subject to this requirement.
The employee must give 30 days’ notice before taking this leave unless there is an emergency.
Contact a Maine labor attorney right away to discuss your case if you feel you have experienced unfair discrimination or that your employer has broken any state or federal labor laws.
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