An Act To Update the Statutes Governing the Bureau of Labor Standards To Promote Clarity for Workers and Employers
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1575
Committee Amendment CA_A_S252 (Senate)
Amends: 26 MRSA §46, 26 MRSA §597, 26 MRSA §601, 26 MRSA §621-A, 26 MRSA §626, 26 MRSA §664

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 553, L.D. 1575, Bill, "An Act To 
Update the Statutes Governing the Bureau of Labor Standards To Promote Clarity for 
Workers and Employers" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 5 to 11 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 5. 26 MRSA §46, 6th ,r, as amended by PL 1983, c. 296, is further amended 
to read: 
Any employer who willfully or repeatedly violates any standard, rule or order 
promulgated adopted pursuant to section 565, aBd if that violation is specifically 
determined to be a serious violation, shall must, upon oonviotion determination, be 
punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or b:y imprisonment for not more than 6 
months, or by both;~ except that if the oonYiotion determination is for a violation 
committed after a first oonvietion determination of violation by such person, punishment 
shall must be by a fine of not more than $20,000, or bj' imprisonment for not more than 
one year, or by both. 
Sec. 6. 26 MRSA §597, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 366, is amended to read: 
§597. Conditions of employment 
An employer or an agent of an employer may not require, as a condition of 
employment, that any employee or prospective employee refrain from using tobacco 
products outside the course of that employment or otherwise discriminate against any 
person with respect to the person's compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of 
employment for using tobacco products outside the course of employment as long as the 
employee complies with any workplace policy concerning use of tobacco. This section 
does not prohibit an employer or an agent of an employer from offering a voluntary 
wellness program that offers incentives for the cessation of use of tobacco products in 
compliance with applicable federal regulations. 
Sec. 7. 26 MRSA §601, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 212, is amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 553, L.D. 1575 
§601. Rest breaks 
In 
the 
absence of a 
collective bargaining agreement or other written 
employer-employee agreement providing otherwise, an employee, as defined in section 
663, may be employed or permitted to work for no more than 6 consecutive hours at one 
time unless he the employee is given the opportunity to take at least 3 0 consecutive 
minutes of rest time, except in cases of emergency in which there is danger to property, 
life, public safety or public health. This rest time may be used by the employee as a 
unpaid mealtime, but only if the employee is completely relieved of duty. 
1. Small business. This section does not apply to any place of employment where: 
A. Fewer than 3 employees are on duty at any one time; and 
B. 
The nature of the work done by the employees employee allows them the 
employee frequent paid breaks of a shorter duration during their the employee's work 
day. 
Sec. 8. 26 MRSA §621-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 103, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
1. Minimum frequency and full payment. At regular intervals not to exceed 16 
days, every employer must pay in full all wages earned by each employee. Each payment 
must include all wages earned to within 8 days of the payment date. Payments that fall 
on a day when the business is regularly closed must be paid no later than the following 
business day. An employee who is absent from work at a time fixed for payment must be 
paid on demand after that time as if the employee was not absent.' 
Amend the bill in section 13 in §622 in the last 2 lines (page 4, lines 18 and 19 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "An employer shall preserve the records required by 
this section for 3 years." 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 14 and 15 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 14. 26 MRSA §626, first ,, as amended by PL 1991, c. 162, is fu1ther 
amended to read: 
An employee leaving employment must be paid in full within a reasonable time after 
demand at the offioe of the employer vthere payrolls are kept and v1ages are paid, 
provided that any no later than the employee's next established payday. 
Any 
overcompensation may be withheld if authorized under section 635 and any loan or 
advance against future earnings or wages may be deducted if evidenced by a statement in 
writing signed by the employee. Whenever the terms of employment inoh:1de or the 
employer's established practice includes provisions for paid vacations, vacation pay on 
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cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned. 
Sec. 15. 26 MRSA §626, last,, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 580, §1, is amended to 
read: 
Within 2 weeks after the sale of a business, the seller of the business shall pay 
employees of that business any wages earned while employed by the seller. If the terms 
of employment inolude or the employer's established practice includes provisions for paid 
vacations, vacation pay on cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to S.P. 553, L.D. 1575 
The seller of a business may comply with the provisions of this paragraph through a 
specific agreement with the buyer in which the buyer agrees to pay any wages earned by 
employees through employment with the seller and to honor any paid vacation earned 
under the seller's vacation policy.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 17 to 19. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 21 to 27 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 21. 26 MRSA §664, sub-§3, ~' as amended by PL 2011, c. 681, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
F. 
The canning,;, processing,;, preserving,;, freezing,;, drying,;, marketing,;, storing,;, 
packing for shipment;, or distribution distributing of: 
(1) Agricultural produce; 
(2) Meat and fish products; and 
(3) Perishable foods. 
Individuals employed, directly or indirectly, for or at an egg processing facility that 
has over 300,000 laying birds must be paid overtime in accordance with this 
subsection; and' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 31 and 32. 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 33 a new section to read: 
'Sec. 34. Retroactivity. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, 
section 302, the provision of this Act that amends Title 26, section 664, subsection 3, 
plj.ragraph F applies retroactively to September 29, 1995 but does not apply to cases 
· pending on March 12, 2017.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes a number of changes to the bill, including the following: 
1. It restores the fine of up to $20,000 for repeated violations of occupational safety 
requirements. It also removes the requirement for a conviction and instead provides that 
the fine is collectible upon a determination of a violation by the Department of Labor; 
2. It allows an employer to offer a voluntary wellness program that offers incentives 
to employees for the cessation of use of tobacco products in compliance with federal 
regulations; 
3. It eliminates the portion of the bill regarding possession of firearms by employees; 
4. It amends the portion of the bill regarding rest breaks to specify that the 30-minute 
rest break may be used by the employee as unpaid mealtime only if the employee is 
completely relieved of duty, and limits the exception that allows small businesses with 
fewer than 3 employees on duty at any one time when the employee has frequent paid 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/t" to S.P. 553, L.D. 1575 
breaks of shorter duration to be exempted from the 30-minute rest break requirement only 
if the employees are completely relieved of duty during the frequent paid breaks; 
5. It eliminates the portions of the bill regarding exemptions to mandatory overtime 
pay for certain salaried employees and automobile mechanics, automobile parts clerks 
and automobile service writers; 
6. It eliminates the provision in the bill that allows a salaried employee to be paid on 
a monthly basis; 
7. It eliminates the requirement in the bill that an employer preserve wage records 
for 3 years; 
8. 
It changes the provision in the bill that specifies that when the terms of 
employment or the employer's established practice includes provisions for paid vacations, 
vacation pay on cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned; 
9. It eliminates the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements 
in the bill for domestic service workers employed to provide companionship services; 
10. It eliminates the provisions in the bill relating to the definition of "tip" and that 
make a mandatory service charge the property of the employer and not the service 
employee; and 
11. It eliminates the provision in the bill that requires the Department of Labor, 
Bureau of Labor Standards to conduct a survey every 3 years to determine the prevailing 
hourly wage and benefits rate in the construction industry, instead of annually under 
current law. 
This amendment also makes changes to the bill to provide further clarity regarding 
the current exemption from overtime contained in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, 
section 664, subsection 3, paragraph F relating to work in the distribution of agricultural 
produce, meat and fish products and perishable foods. 
The bill and the cmrent 
amendment are specifically intended to correct a perceived ambiguity identified by the 
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in O'Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy, 851 
F.3d 69 (2017). The amendment attempts to clarify current law by using semicolons to 
separate the applicable categories of work to which the exemption applies, and by 
changing the term "distribution" to "distributing" to conform to the grammatical 
convention of parallel usage by matching the gerund form of the other activities listed in 
the exemption, with the intent that work done in the distribution of, or distributing of, 
agricultural produce, meat and fish products and perishable foods is exempt from the 
overtime requirements of Title 26, section 664. The amendment also adds a retroactivity 
clause, applying the changes made to Title 26, section 664, subsection 3, paragraph F 
retroactively to September 29, 1995. This retroactivity applies to pending cases except, 
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in deference to the authority of the judiciary to redress disputes, for cases pending on 
8 
March 12, 2017. The Legislature does not intend for any retroactive change to the 
overtime requirements for egg processing facilities enacted by Public Law 2011, chapter 
681. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/01/17 feac 
LD 1575 
LR 712(02) 
An Act To Update the Statutes Governing the Bureau of Labor Standards To Promote Clarity for 
Workers and Employers 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ''!Jr ( S -:;;2 5 ;;:2.) 
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Labor to implement the provisions in this legislation can be absorbed within 
existing budgeted resources. Any increase in General Fund revenue from these changes is not expected to be 
significant. 
LR0712(02) - Fiscal Note - Page I of 1