An Act to Make Agricultural Workers and Other Related Workers Employees Under the Wage and Hour Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0398
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS
Amends: 26 MRSA §603, 26 MRSA §663, 26 MRSA §664

Legislative Document
No. 398
H.P. 249
House of Representatives, February 2, 2023
An Act to Make Agricultural Workers and Other Related Workers 
Employees Under the Wage and Hour Laws
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Speaker TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §603, sub-§3, ¶D, as amended by PL 2007, c. 640, §1, is further 
amended to read:
D.  An individual exempt from the definition of employee in section 663, subsection 
3, paragraph A, C, F, G, I or J;
Sec. 2.  26 MRSA §603, sub-§3, ¶F, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 750, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA §663, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 1975, c. 717, §5, is 
repealed.
Sec. 4.  26 MRSA §664, sub-§3, ¶F, as amended by PL 2019, c. 387, §1, is 
repealed.
Sec. 5.  26 MRSA §664, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
3-A.  Overtime rate for individuals employed in agriculture.  Notwithstanding any 
provision of subsection 3 to the contrary, an employer may not require an individual 
employed in agriculture as defined in the Employment Security Law and the Federal 
Unemployment Tax Act and an individual employed in certain activities related to 
agriculture to work more than 40 hours in any one week unless 1 1/2 times the regular 
hourly rate is paid for all hours actually worked in excess of 40 hours in that week as 
provided in this subsection. The regular hourly rate includes all earnings, bonuses, 
commissions and other compensation that is paid or due based on actual work performed 
and does not include any sums excluded from the definition of "regular rate" under the 
federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 United States Code, Section 207(e).  
A. Beginning January 1, 2024, an individual employed in agriculture or an individual 
employed in certain activities related to agriculture may not be required by an employer 
to work more than 40 hours in any one week unless 1 1/2 times the regular hourly rate 
is paid for all hours actually worked in excess of 50 hours in that week.
B. Beginning January 1, 2025, an individual employed in agriculture or an individual 
employed in certain activities related to agriculture may not be required by an employer 
to work more than 40 hours in any one week unless 1 1/2 times the regular hourly rate 
is paid for all hours actually worked in excess of 45 hours in that week.
C. Beginning January 1, 2026, an individual employed in agriculture or an individual 
employed in certain activities related to agriculture may not be required by an employer 
to work more than 40 hours in any one week unless 1 1/2 times the regular hourly rate 
is paid for all hours actually worked in excess of 40 hours in that week.
For the purposes of this subsection, “an individual employed in certain activities related to 
agriculture” means the canning; processing; preserving; freezing; drying; marketing; 
storing; packing for shipment; or distributing of: agricultural produce; meat and fish 
products; and perishable foods.
Sec. 6.  Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that agricultural employees and seasonal farm employees are subject 
to the laws that place limits on mandatory overtime.  It also provides that agricultural 
employees are subject to the laws that set a minimum wage and overtime rate.  It provides 
that the laws that set an overtime rate apply to certain activities related to agricultural 
produce, meat and fish products and perishable foods.  The bill phases in overtime pay for 
individuals employed in agriculture and certain activities related to agriculture.