Maine — Wage & Hour

Maine's minimum wage is $15.10 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. The rate adjusts annually each January 1 based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region, rounded to the nearest five cents. The law applies to all employers with one or more employees.

Source: 26 M.R.S. § 664 | Maine DOL announcement (Sept. 2025)

Maine requires employers to pay overtime at 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. The regular hourly rate includes all earnings, bonuses, commissions, and other compensation paid or due based on actual work performed, excluding sums excluded from "regular rate" under the FLSA's 29 U.S.C. § 207(e). Maine does not impose a daily overtime threshold.

Source: 26 M.R.S. § 664(3)

Maine requires employers to provide employees with at least 30 consecutive minutes of rest time after no more than 6 consecutive hours of work. This requirement applies to all employees as defined in 26 M.R.S. § 663, which covers both hourly and non-exempt salaried employees. Unlike the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which imposes no meal or rest break requirement, Maine law mandates this break period statewide.

Unpaid break when completely relieved of duty

The 30-minute rest period may be unpaid if—and only if—the employee is completely relieved of duty during that time. An employee who must remain at their workstation, answer phones, monitor equipment, or perform any other job function during the break must be paid for that time. The "completely relieved of duty" standard comes from the statute itself and mirrors the federal compensability rule for bona fide meal periods.

Emergency exception

The rest-break requirement does not apply in cases of emergency in which there is danger to property, life, public safety, or public health. The statute does not define "emergency," but the plain language suggests it must involve immediate, serious risk—not routine business pressure or understaffing.

Collective bargaining and written agreements

The 30-minute rest-break rule applies "in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement or other written employer-employee agreement providing otherwise." Employers and employees may agree in writing to a different arrangement, including shorter breaks, more frequent breaks, or a waiver of the break entirely. However, any such agreement must be in writing; oral understandings do not satisfy the statutory exception.

Small business exemption

Section 601 does not apply to any workplace where both of the following conditions are met:

• Fewer than 3 employees are on duty at any one time; and
• The nature of the work allows the employee frequent paid breaks of a shorter duration during the workday.

Both prongs must be satisfied. A workplace with fewer than 3 employees on duty is still covered by the rest-break rule unless the work itself provides frequent paid break opportunities. Conversely, a workplace with frequent natural pauses in work (e.g., a retail counter with lulls between customers) remains subject to the 30-minute requirement if 3 or more employees are on duty simultaneously.

Application to multi-state employers

For employers with operations in multiple states, Maine's rest-break rule applies to employees performing work in Maine, regardless of where the employer is headquartered or where payroll is administered. An employee who works a full shift in Maine must receive the 30-minute break after 6 hours even if the employer's home state (e.g., New Hampshire, which has no meal-break statute) imposes no such requirement. Federal law does not preempt state meal-break mandates; the more protective state rule controls.

Source: 26 M.R.S. § 601

Maine permits employers to pay a reduced direct cash wage to service employees (tipped employees) by taking a "tip credit" against the full minimum wage, subject to strict statutory limits and notice requirements.

Minimum direct cash wage — 50% floor

Under 26 M.R.S. § 664(2), an employer may consider tips as part of a service employee's wages, but the tip credit may not exceed 50% of the minimum hourly wage. Effective January 1, 2026, with Maine's minimum wage at $15.10 per hour, the maximum tip credit is $7.55 per hour, which means employers must pay service employees a minimum direct cash wage of at least $7.55 per hour. The statute establishes this as a hard floor: the cash wage cannot drop below 50% of the applicable minimum wage, even if the employee receives substantial tips. Because the minimum wage adjusts annually for cost of living, the 50% calculation resets each January 1.

Definition of "service employee" — monthly tip threshold

To qualify as a "service employee" eligible for the tip credit, an employee must be "engaged in an occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives" more than a specified dollar amount per month in tips. Under 26 M.R.S. § 663(8), effective January 1, 2023, the baseline threshold is $175 per month in tips. The threshold adjusts annually on each January 1 by the same percentage increase, if any, in the cost of living (using the same CPI-W Northeast Region index that adjusts the minimum wage itself). For 2026, the adjusted threshold is $191 per month. An employee who does not meet this threshold must be paid the full minimum wage with no tip credit.

Weekly make-up obligation

The employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the full minimum hourly wage when direct wages and the tip credit are combined "within the established 7-day workweek" (26 M.R.S. § 664(2)). If the employee's direct cash wage plus actual tips received do not average at least $15.10 per hour over the workweek, the employer must increase the direct wages by the difference. This reconciliation is weekly, not monthly or pay-period; the employer cannot rely on a strong tip week to offset a weak one in the prior or subsequent week.

Mandatory advance notice

An employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the affected employee in advance, either orally or in writing, of the following information (26 M.R.S. § 664(2)):

• The amount of the direct wage to be paid by the employer to the tipped employee;
• The amount of tips to be credited as wages toward the minimum wage;
• That the tip credit applies only to tips actually received by the employee;
• That all tips received by the affected employee must be retained by the employee, except for a valid tip pooling arrangement in accordance with subsection 2-A;
• That the tip credit may not apply to any employee who has not been informed by the employer of the provisions for a tip credit; and
• If the employer uses a tip pooling arrangement, any required tip pool contribution amount from the employee.

The statute makes clear that the tip credit does not apply to any employee who has not received this advance notice. An employer who fails to inform the employee forfeits the right to take the tip credit for that employee.

Tip ownership and credit-card tips

Tips received by a service employee become the property of the employee and may not be shared with the employer. Tips that are automatically included in the customer's bill (auto-gratuities) or charged to a credit card must be treated like tips given directly to the service employee. A tip charged to a credit card must be paid by the employer to the employee by the next regular payday and may not be held while the employer is awaiting reimbursement from a credit card company. The employer may not deduct any amount from employee tips charged to a credit card, including service fees assessed to the employer in connection with the credit card transaction.

Tip pooling

Maine permits valid tip pooling arrangements that do not violate the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and its regulations (26 M.R.S. § 664(2-A)). When an employer uses the tip credit under subsection 2, the tip pooling arrangement must be only among service employees. If the employer pays all employees in the group the full minimum hourly wage and does not use the tip credit, the tip pool may be among a broader group of employees. In either case, the employer may not receive tips from the tip pool, and supervisors and managers may not receive tips from the tip pool.

Contrast with federal law

The federal FLSA permits a tip credit of up to $5.12 per hour (the difference between the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and the federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13), resulting in a federal direct cash wage floor of $2.13 per hour. Maine's 50% rule is significantly more protective: it pegs the minimum direct cash wage to half the state minimum wage, which in 2026 is $7.55 per hour — more than triple the federal cash-wage floor. Employers in Maine must comply with the higher state standard.

Source: 26 M.R.S. § 664(2) | 26 M.R.S. § 663(8) | Maine DOL announcement (Sept. 2025)

Two Maine municipalities have enacted local minimum wage ordinances that exceed the state minimum wage of $15.10 per hour: Portland and Rockland. Employers with employees who perform work within the physical boundaries of these cities must comply with the higher municipal rates for hours worked in those locations, even if the employer is headquartered outside the city or the state.

Portland — $16.75 per hour

The City of Portland requires employers to pay a minimum wage of $16.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. The ordinance, codified in Portland City Code Chapter 33, applies to all employees who perform work within the city's municipal limits, regardless of the employer's size or principal place of business. The minimum wage adjusts annually based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Northeast Region.

For service employees (those who regularly receive more than $191 per month in tips), Portland permits employers to take a tip credit, but the direct cash wage may not fall below 50% of the city minimum wage. As of January 1, 2026, employers must pay tipped employees a direct wage of at least $8.38 per hour. If the employee's direct wage combined with actual tips received does not average at least $16.75 per hour on a weekly basis, the employer must pay the difference.

The Portland City Manager's Office enforces the ordinance. Employees may also pursue private causes of action for violations. Portland employers must post the city's minimum wage notice in a conspicuous place and maintain payroll records for at least three years after an employee's departure.

Rockland — $16.00 per hour (employers with more than 25 employees)

The City of Rockland requires employers with more than 25 employees to pay a minimum wage of $16.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2026, for all hours worked within the city's physical boundaries. The ordinance, codified in Rockland City Code Article I, Section 2-116, does not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees; those employers must pay only the state minimum wage of $15.10 per hour.

The Rockland minimum wage adjusts annually on January 1 based on the percentage increase in the cost of living, using the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region.

For service employees (those who regularly receive more than $191 per month in tips), Rockland permits a tip credit. Employers must pay tipped employees a direct cash wage of at least $8.00 per hour as of January 1, 2026 (50% of the Rockland minimum wage). If the employee's direct wage combined with actual tips received does not equal or exceed $16.00 per hour, the employer must pay the service employee the difference.

Location-based application

The Maine Department of Labor has confirmed that municipal minimum wage ordinances apply based on where the work is performed, not where the employer is headquartered or where payroll is administered. An employee who works from home in Portland must be paid the Portland minimum wage, even if the employer has no physical presence in Portland and the employee occasionally works at a company office in another city. Employers with employees who work in multiple jurisdictions during a single workweek may be required to track hours by location and pay the applicable minimum wage for each hour worked in each jurisdiction.

The state retains jurisdiction over all other wage and hour rules, including overtime, meal and rest breaks, final paycheck timing, and wage statement requirements. Only the minimum wage floor is raised by the municipal ordinances.

Source: Portland minimum wage ordinance information | Rockland minimum wage notice (Jan. 1, 2026) | Maine DOL minimum wage poster (Jan. 1, 2026) | Maine DOL municipal minimum wage FAQ

Maine exempts specific categories of employees from the state's overtime requirement (1.5× the regular hourly rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek) under 26 M.R.S. § 664(3). These exemptions are occupation-specific and industry-specific statutory carve-outs. An employee who falls within one of these categories is not entitled to Maine overtime pay under § 664(3), though federal FLSA overtime rules may still apply.

Automobile industry employees — § 664(3)(A)

Automobile mechanics, automobile parts clerks, automobile service writers, and automobile salespersons (as defined in 26 M.R.S. § 663) are exempt. The statute requires that interpretation of these terms be consistent with the interpretation of the same terms under federal overtime law, 29 U.S.C. § 213.

Under § 663(14), "automobile service writer" means a person employed primarily to receive, analyze, and reference requests for service, repair, or analysis of motor vehicles, employed by an establishment primarily engaged in selling automobiles or trucks to the ultimate purchaser, whose annual compensation exceeds 3,000 times the state minimum hourly wage or the annualized rate established by the U.S. Department of Labor under the FLSA, whichever is higher. The definition excludes employees paid by the employer on an hourly basis.

Fisheries and agricultural processing — § 664(3)(F)

Employees engaged in the canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment, or distributing of certain products are exempt. The statute does not enumerate which specific products fall within this exemption; the language mirrors the structure of federal agricultural exemptions.

However, the statute expressly excludes one category from this exemption: "Individuals employed, directly or indirectly, for or at an egg processing facility that has over 300,000 laying birds must be paid overtime in accordance with this subsection" (§ 664(3)(F), as amended by Public Law 2019, c. 387, § 1). Employees at large egg processing facilities are therefore entitled to Maine overtime pay.

Certain drivers and driver's helpers — § 664(3)(K)

A driver or driver's helper who is not paid hourly and is subject to the provisions of 49 U.S.C. § 31502 (federal motor carrier hours-of-service rules) or to regulations adopted under that section is exempt and "governed by the applicable provisions of federal law with respect to payment of overtime."

The statute adds: "Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to limit the rights of parties to negotiate rates of pay for drivers and driver's helpers who are represented for purposes of collective bargaining by a labor organization certified by the National Labor Relations Board or who are employed by an entity that is party to a contract with the Federal Government or an agency of the Federal Government that dictates the minimum hourly rate of pay to be paid a driver or driver's helper" (§ 664(3)(K)).

The exemption applies only to non-hourly drivers; hourly-paid drivers subject to 49 U.S.C. § 31502 do not fall within this exemption.

State fire protection and law enforcement employees — § 664(3)(L)

Public employees employed by the executive or judicial branch of the State of Maine who are engaged in fire protection activities (as defined in 29 U.S.C. § 203(y)) or in law enforcement activities (as defined in 29 C.F.R. § 553.211), and who are eligible to have overtime pay calculated and paid in accordance with 29 U.S.C. § 207(k), are exempt from Maine's standard overtime rule.

Section 207(k) is the FLSA's partial overtime exemption for fire protection and law enforcement employees, which permits employers to calculate overtime on a work period longer than the standard workweek (e.g., a 28-day cycle for firefighters).

Under § 664(4), the overtime pay requirement applicable to "executive or judicial employees as described in subsection 3, paragraph D" may be met through compensatory time agreements, to the extent permitted under 29 U.S.C. § 207(o).

Repealed exemptions

Paragraphs B, C, D, E, G, H, I, and J of § 664(3) have been repealed or are now blank in the current codification. The legislative history shows Public Law 2001, c. 628; Public Law 2007, c. 640; and Public Law 2011, c. 681 repealed or restructured these paragraphs. Employees formerly covered by these exemptions are now subject to Maine's overtime requirement unless they qualify under a remaining exemption or under the federal FLSA.

Relationship to federal white-collar exemptions

The exemptions in § 664(3) are separate from the federal FLSA's white-collar exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, computer, and outside-sales employees under 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) and 29 C.F.R. Part 541.

Maine does not incorporate the federal white-collar exemptions by reference. Instead, Maine establishes its own salary threshold for exempt status. Under 26 M.R.S. § 663(3)(K) (definition of "executive, administrative and professional capacity"), an employee must earn annual compensation exceeding "3000 times the State's minimum hourly wage or the annualized rate established by the United States Department of Labor under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, whichever is higher."

With Maine's minimum wage at $15.10 per hour effective January 1, 2026, the Maine salary threshold is $45,300 per year (3,000 × $15.10), compared to the federal threshold of $35,568 annually ($684/week). An employee who meets the federal duties test and earns less than $45,300 annually is entitled to overtime under Maine law for hours worked in Maine, even if exempt under federal law.

Minimum wage coverage

The exemptions in § 664(3) apply only to the overtime requirement. Unless separately exempted from the definition of "employee" in § 663(3) or from the minimum wage provisions in § 664(1) and (2), an employee exempt from overtime must still be paid at least Maine's minimum hourly wage for all hours worked.

Source: 26 M.R.S. § 664 | 26 M.R.S. § 663

Maine establishes its own minimum salary threshold for white-collar overtime exemptions (executive, administrative, and professional employees) under 26 M.R.S. § 663(3)(K). An employee who meets the federal duties test under 29 C.F.R. Part 541 but earns less than Maine's salary threshold is entitled to overtime pay under state law for hours worked in Maine, even if the employee would be exempt under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The formula — Maine or federal, whichever is higher

Under § 663(3)(K), to qualify as an employee working "in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity" (and thus exempt from Maine's minimum wage and overtime requirements), a salaried employee's "regular compensation, when converted to an annual rate," must exceed 3,000 times the State's minimum hourly wage or the annualized rate established by the United States Department of Labor under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, whichever is higher.

The statute creates a ratchet: Maine's threshold is the greater of (1) 3,000 × Maine's minimum wage, or (2) the federal FLSA salary threshold. Because Maine's minimum wage adjusts annually for cost of living under § 664(1), Maine's exemption threshold also adjusts automatically each January 1.

2026 thresholds

Effective January 1, 2026, Maine's minimum wage is $15.10 per hour. The Maine salary threshold is therefore:

• $45,300 annually (3,000 × $15.10 = $45,300)
• $871.16 per week ($45,300 ÷ 52)

The federal FLSA salary threshold, restored by the U.S. Department of Labor in May 2026 after vacatur of the 2024 rule, is $684 per week ($35,568 annually) under 29 C.F.R. § 541.600. Because Maine's threshold ($871.16/week) exceeds the federal threshold ($684/week), Maine's higher threshold controls for employees working in Maine.

An employee who earns $40,000 per year and meets the federal executive, administrative, or professional duties test would be exempt from overtime under the FLSA but not exempt under Maine law. The employer must pay that employee overtime at 1.5× the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The threshold adjusts annually with the minimum wage

The Maine Department of Labor announces the new minimum wage each September, effective the following January 1. The exemption salary threshold resets automatically. For 2025, the minimum wage was $14.65 per hour, yielding a salary threshold of $43,950 annually ($845.21/week). For 2026, the threshold rose to $45,300 annually ($871.16/week). Employers must confirm each January that salaried exempt employees still meet the updated threshold or reclassify them as non-exempt and begin paying overtime.

Duties test remains separate

The salary threshold is only one prong. The employee must also meet the applicable duties test under federal regulations. Maine does not adopt its own state-specific duties test for white-collar exemptions; instead, Maine references the federal FLSA framework. However, the Maine Department of Labor has adopted regulations under 26 M.R.S. § 663(3)(K) that incorporate by reference the federal duties tests in 29 C.F.R. Part 541 (as in effect on August 22, 2004) while preserving Maine's higher salary floor.

An employee who meets the salary threshold but does not spend the requisite portion of time on exempt duties, or who lacks the required level of discretion or management authority, remains non-exempt regardless of salary. Employers must evaluate both the salary level and the duties independently.

Multi-state employers

For employers with operations in multiple states, Maine's salary threshold applies to employees performing work in Maine, regardless of where the employer is headquartered or where payroll is administered. An employee who works remotely from Maine for an out-of-state employer must be paid overtime if their salary falls below Maine's threshold, even if the employer's home state (e.g., New Hampshire, which follows the federal $684/week threshold) does not require it. The more protective state rule controls for work performed in that state.

Municipal minimum wages do not raise the exemption threshold

Portland and Rockland have enacted municipal minimum wage ordinances that exceed the state minimum wage. Portland's minimum wage is $16.75 per hour as of January 1, 2026; Rockland's is $16.00 per hour (for employers with more than 25 employees). However, the white-collar exemption salary threshold in § 663(3)(K) is calculated using the state minimum hourly wage ($15.10), not the municipal rate. The exemption threshold remains $45,300 annually statewide, including in Portland and Rockland. Municipal ordinances raise only the minimum wage floor, not the exemption salary formula.

Source: 26 M.R.S. § 663(3)(K) | 26 M.R.S. § 664 | Maine DOL minimum wage announcement (Sept. 2025) | Maine DOL minimum wage poster (Jan. 2026) | 29 C.F.R. § 541.600