labor lawAdivision of labor law center

This relatively new Maine minimum wage came to employers by way of a new law that the governor, Gov. John Baldacci, signed into law just right around this time of year, last April 13. The governor back then signed the bill with the intent, he said, to make sure that Maine kept pace with the rest of New England when it comes to the minimum wage, according to my sources.

The new minimum wage of $6.75 per hour went into effect, as I said, this past October, and you Maine employers will also have another new minimum wage increase coming up this October 2007. That minimum wage increase will raise the Maine minimum wage to $7 per hour, following with the two step increase process that was in the bill from last April.

This Maine minimum wage increase did not come easy for supporters in the state. Opponents of the minimum wage said it would hurt the smaller employers in the state, and then lead to fewer jobs in the long run for workers. These are the main two arguments that minimum wage opponents use to argue against any sort of increase.

Meanwhile, back last spring in Maine, the supporters of the new minimum wage used much of the same arguments that supporters of all minimum wage increases tend to use, which is that employees who get paid the old minimum wage get poorer by the year because of the effects of inflation—the economic force that increases prices on food, fuel, clothing, and many other household items year after year.

The law eventually did pass over the opposition, and Maine got its new minimum wage, which does put it in the middle of the pack of New England states. Connecticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island all have minimum wages over $7 per hour already, and Massachusetts has one close to it.

Last 10 posts by Mark

• North Carolina Federal Minimum Wage Alert - June 11th, 2007
• New York Federal Minimum Wage Alert - June 11th, 2007
• Arizona Workers' Comp Compromise - June 11th, 2007
• New Mexico Federal Minimum Wage Alert - June 10th, 2007
• New Jersey Federal Minimum Wage Alert - June 10th, 2007
• Maine Leaving Wage Law Not Leaving - June 10th, 2007
• New York Family Leave Law Leaving? - June 10th, 2007
• New Hampshire Federal Minimum Wage Alert - June 10th, 2007
• Whistleblower Protection Changes - June 10th, 2007
• Discrimination Law Suits Legal Case - June 10th, 2007