An Act to Establish Greater Alignment of Penalties for Certain
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1587
Committee: Labor
Sponsors: BECK, CARNEY, FECTEAU
Amends: 26 MRSA §54

Legislative Document
No. 1587
H.P. 1045
House of Representatives, April 10, 2025
An Act to Establish Greater Alignment of Penalties for Certain 
Labor Law Violations
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BECK of South Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland and
Representatives: ABDI of Lewiston, DHALAC of South Portland, FAIRCLOTH of Bangor, 
Speaker FECTEAU of Biddeford, MACIAS of Topsham, MALON of Biddeford, ROEDER of 
Bangor, SATO of Gorham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §54 is enacted to read:
§54.  Criminal penalties
1. Violation; criminal penalties. In addition to any penalties provided in section 53 or 
in chapter 7 or 15, a person who intentionally or knowingly violates any provision of 
chapter 7 or 15 commits a Class E crime.  Notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 1704, 
subsection 5, a person convicted of a Class E crime pursuant to this subsection may be 
subject to a fine of not more than $10,000.  Notwithstanding Title 17-A, section 1604, 
subsection 1, paragraph E, a person convicted of a Class E crime as a first-time offense 
under this subsection may not be subject to a term of imprisonment. 
2. Enforcement. The director may conduct investigations for violations described in 
this section and make written referrals to the Attorney General for prosecution if 
appropriate.  A referral must include the outcome of the director's investigation and the 
reasons the director believes criminal prosecution is warranted.  The Attorney General shall 
respond to the director within 30 days of receiving the written referral, indicating whether 
criminal prosecution will proceed.  If the Attorney General declines to prosecute the person, 
the Attorney General shall provide to the director the reasons for declining to prosecute. 
3. Reporting. Information related to the director's referrals to the Attorney General 
under subsection 2 must be included in the Department of Labor's annual report required 
by section 673.  This information must include any fines sought or collected by the 
department, the number of referrals made by the director and the number of referrals 
declined by the Attorney General, including the reasons for the denials. 
SUMMARY
This bill codifies into the Maine Revised Statutes provisions of the federal Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 and creates a criminal penalty for any person who intentionally or 
knowingly violates the employment practices laws or the laws governing preference to 
Maine works and contractors.  A person convicted of a willful violation is subject to a fine 
of not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment of not more than 6 months, or both, except 
that a person may not be imprisoned unless that person has been previously found guilty of 
willfully violating these laws.  The Director of Labor Standards within the Department of 
Labor may refer these violations to the Attorney General for prosecution.  The Attorney 
General must respond to the director within 30 days of receiving the referral, indicating 
whether the Attorney General will prosecute the case.  If the Attorney General declines to 
prosecute, the Attorney General must provide to the director the reasons for the denial. 
This bill also requires that any information related to these willful violations must be 
included in the department's annual report, including any fines sought or collected by the 
department, the number of referrals made by the director and the number of referrals 
declined by the Attorney General, including the reasons for the denials.