Maine Enacts Law to Pay Agricultural Workers Minimum Wage

Strategic Insights -

Agricultural workers in Maine will no longer earn as little as $7.25 an hour, as Governor Janet Mills signed a bill into law requiring them to earn at least the state minimum wage. The new law aims to correct what advocates call a "legacy of exclusion rooted in racism" that denied protections to Black, Brown, Latino, and Indigenous laborers. The state minimum wage is currently $14.65 an hour, increasing automatically with inflation. This legislation follows a proposal sponsored by Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, which was similar to one proposed last year by Governor Mills.

Key Takeaways:

  • The new law requires agricultural workers to earn at least the state minimum wage, currently $14.65 an hour, increasing automatically with inflation.
  • The legislation aims to correct a "legacy of exclusion rooted in racism" that denied protections to Black, Brown, Latino, and Indigenous laborers.
  • Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, sponsored the proposal, which was similar to one proposed last year by Governor Janet Mills.
  • The bill will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.
  • Heather Spalding, deputy director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, said her organization is "thrilled that Maine is taking this step toward social justice and correcting an error on the law books."
  • The new law does not include provisions for aggrieved farmworkers to sue over alleged violations, unlike a previous proposal.

Statistics:

  • The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which has not been raised since 2009.
  • The state minimum wage is currently $14.65 an hour and increases automatically with inflation.
  • The new law will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.

Sources:

  • Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)