Maine has passed “reporting time pay” requirements for employers with at least 10 employees in the usual and regular course of business for more than 120 days in a calendar year. On any day an employee reports to work at the request of an employer and the employer cancels or reduces the number of hours in an employee’s scheduled shift, the employee must be paid the lesser of:
- Two hours of pay at the employee’s regular hourly rate of pay; and
- The total pay for the shift for which the employee was initially scheduled.
An employer that makes a documented good faith effort to notify an employee not to report to work is not liable to pay the wages described above. If the employee reports to work after the employer’s attempt to notify the employee has been unsuccessful or if the employer is prevented from making notification for any reason, the employee must perform whatever duties are assigned by the employer at the time the employee reports to work, as long as they are physically able to perform those duties. If the employer does not have any duties to assign to the employee, the employer must pay the employee the wages described above.
The reporting time pay requirements do not apply if an employee is not required to work or is unable to work due to:
- Adverse weather conditions;
- A natural disaster or civil emergency;
- An illness or medical condition of the employee; or
- A workplace injury of the employee.
Employees employed in a seasonal industry or for a public employer and covered by a collective bargaining agreement are not covered by the requirements.
The effective date of these requirements is September 24, 2025. You can find the enacted bill here.