Bill Would Make More Maine Workers Eligible For Overtime Pay

James Myall, an analyst for Maine Center for Economic Policy, a liberal advocacy group, said right now employers can easily classify salaried workers as administrative or professional even if their salaries are relatively low. He says this is especially true in a modern workforce, where people can earn more than $33,000 a year, yet not qualify for the time-and-a-half wage in overtime pay.

Myall acknowledged that Maine’s exemption law is higher than federal law of about $23,700.

“But our own threshold is still so low that 4 out of 5 salaried workers in Maine earn too much to receive overtime, despite their annual wages not approaching anything that a reasonable observer would consider high earning,” he said.

Click here to read the full story, published March 11, 2019, in Maine Public.