PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Workers in the state of Maine will now benefit from a law that allows the state to require companies to pay back wages and damages for lost wages.
The law, which went into effect on Friday, is the latest initiative by Democratic-controlled states to give workers more options to seek compensation for lost wages. California changed its labor laws earlier this year to encourage more companies to correct such labor law violations.
Laws to combat wage theft are common, but new laws in Maine give the state’s Labor Department more power to hold companies accountable for missed payments, lawmakers said. The law says the Labor Department can now compel an employer to pay both the unpaid wages and damages equal to twice the amount of wages plus interest.
Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat, said the new law was designed to “hold perpetrators of wage theft accountable,” describing it as a concern of “ordinary working-class people.”
The proposal was passed by the Maine state legislature earlier this year. The amendment was supported by Maine labor leaders who said it was especially important to protect low-wage workers from losing wages. The Maine Center for Economic Policy said earlier this year that minimum wage violations in Maine totaled an estimated $30 million in 2017.
“This bill will finally give our labor laws more teeth to hold corporate violators accountable and ensure that working Maine citizens receive full pay for their honest work,” said Grant Provost, vice president of the Maine AFL-CIO and member of Ironworkers Local 7.
Some business interests and political groups opposed Maine’s new wage law. The Maine Jobs Council, which advocates for job creation in the state, testified before a committee of the Maine Legislature that the proposal was “contrary to our mission of advocating for economic prosperity by promoting the growth and retention of essential jobs.”
