On July 9, 2017 Maine Governor Paul LePage signed LD 1564 into law. The bill, which passed as an emergency measure and went into effect immediately upon signing, amends the state’s child labor laws to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work in a broader range of businesses and occupations. Previously, minors in this age group Read more
Although Maine’s legislative session has been fraught, leading to blocked bills and government shutdown over the 4th of July weekend, at least there’s one thing everyone could agree on: the tip credit should stay. A controversial portion of Maine’s minimum wage law which would do away with the use of tips being counted as wages Read more
While limited in its immediate applicability for most employers, a recent case considered by U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals provides an intriguing overview of both Maine employment law and English grammatical intricacies. Maine’s overtime law requires employers to pay employees 1 and ½ times the employee’s regular hourly rate for all hours worked in Read more
Coming fast on the heels of the state’s updated Minimum Wage posting, the Maine Department of Labor has released a new version of the Maine Employment Security Law posting. The Maine Employment Security Law posting informs full- and part-time workers of their rights and responsibilities when filing for unemployment benefits. The most noticeable difference is a Read more
Earlier this month, we reported on Governor Paul LePage’s request for the Maine legislature to amend Question 4, the citizen-initiated referendum that scheduled a gradual increase of the state minimum wage with an eventual endpoint of $12.00 per hour, as well as a gradual elimination of the lower minimum wage for tipped workers. Maine’s minimum Read more
On November 8, Maine was one of four states which passed ballot initiatives approving a minimum wage increase. In addition to raising the 2017 state minimum wage for non-tipped workers from $7.50 per hour to $9.00, the Maine referendum schedules additional increases of $1.00 per year until the minimum hourly rate reaches $12.00, at which Read more
Amongst the other changes ushered in by the 2016 election, four states have voted to raise their minimum wage beginning in 2017. With the passage of Proposition 206, Arizona will incrementally raise the hourly rate to $12.00 by 2020, after which it will once again increase in concert with the Consumer Price Index measuring cost Read more
Maine has become the latest state to enact a bill prohibiting employers from accessing employees’ personal social media accounts. Under the new Act (Bill H 640), employers cannot require or coerce an employee or potential employee to disclose his or her password to any of his or her social media accounts. These accounts may include Read more
