An Act To Promote Responsible Business Practices through a Livable Wage
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §194-A is enacted to read:
§ 194-A. Wage compliance for employers
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Average monthly salary" means the fair market rent divided by .3 for the fair market rent area in which the employer is located.
B. "Average weekly salary" means the average monthly salary divided by 4.3.
C. "Fair market rent" means the fair market rent as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for a one-bedroom apartment.
D. "Fair market rent area" means the metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, in which a fair market rent applies.
E. "Taxpayer incentive payment" means any tax credit, reimbursement or forgiveness under this Title.
2. Wage restrictions on employers. An employer is eligible to receive taxpayer incentive payments only if the employer pays its employees a minimum hourly wage that is the greater of:
A. The minimum hourly wage set forth in Title 26, section 664; and
B. The minimum hourly wage that is calculated by dividing the average weekly salary by 40.
summary
This bill requires businesses, in order to receive tax credits, tax reimbursement or tax forgiveness from the State, to pay their employees a livable wage.