Maine might join a group of states that require overtime pay for workers who earn more than the current annual threshold.
Salaried professionals don’t get overtime after working a 40-hour work week unless they earn less than $38,000. However, Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would raise the salary cutoff to more than $57,000 by 2025, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The Maine Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee has approved the proposal with a party-line vote that was supported by Democrats. Eight states have similar laws that raise overtime standards, the Press Herald reported.
Supporters of the proposal said it would protect workers from performing unpaid labor. However, several business groups have opposed it.
The law change “would make it more difficult to attract new business, retain existing ones and limit job growth based on the increased cost of doing business,” said Jessica Laliberte, spokesperson for the Manufacturers Association of Maine, in testimony against the bill.
The proposal is expected to go before the Maine Legislature this winter.