Maine minimum hourly wage to increase to $12.75 in 2022
Maine's minimum wage will increase from $12.15 an hour to $12.75 an hour at the start of 2022 to adjust for inflation, the Maine Department of Labor announced on Thursday.
A 2016 state law, approved by voters in a referendum, requires annual adjustments to the minimum wage through 2024 based on the cost of living index for the Northeast region.
"Mainers did the right thing when they decided they could not wait any longer for the Legislature to act and raise the minimum wage," Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said in a statement posted on social media Thursday. "I'm proud to have fought to protect what voters passed at the ballot in the years that have followed."
Besides the minimum wage increase, the new "tip wage," or service employee minimum wage, will be $6.38 an hour in 2022. That means service employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $6.38 an hour from the employer, in addition to the $12.75 an hour minimum wage.
The minimum salary threshold for exempting a worker from overtime pay is also based on the minimum wage. Starting Jan. 1, 2022, the new minimum salary threshold will be $735.59 per week, or $38,251 annually.
In Thursday's announcement, the Labor Department noted that an individual can earn more than the minimum salary threshold and still be eligible for overtime, and that the duties of each worker have to be taken into account for the analysis.
The department’s Bureau of Labor Standards is responsible for enforcing the state’s minimum wage and overtime statutes and ensuring that both workers and employers understand and comply with the law.
'All workers deserve fair wages'
Matt Schlobohm, executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO, a coalition of 160 Maine unions, welcomed news of the expected increase.
“No one who works full time should live in poverty. For too long the cost of groceries, rent, heating oil and other basic necessities have gone up while wages have remained stagnant," he said. "This cost of living increase means that workers will have a little more dignity and a little more money in their pockets to support their families and spend in the local economy."
Schlobohm said that the law is working "to set a floor for wages and to drive wages up across our economy.”
“All workers deserve fair wages for a fair day’s work,” he added. “We are in a moment when workers are taking action to raise wages and improve their jobs through unionization, minimum wage increases and collective action. It is long past time that we build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. We have a long way to go, but raising Maine’s minimum wage — and having it keep up with the cost of living — is an important step.”
'Tough time' for Maine employers
Peter Gore, executive vice president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, remarked that the increase in the minimum wage is a big jump for employers, especially small businesses and those in rural parts of Maine.
"Many will have to make significant adjustments to their entire wage scale and operations to keep pace with this hike and the increase in the overtime threshold for salaried workers," he said in a statement emailed to Mainebiz on Friday afternoon. "When you consider today’s tight labor market, supply chain challenges and other rising costs for businesses, this will make a tough time even tougher for a lot of Maine employers.”
Editor's note: Story updated to include comment from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.
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