An Act To Protect Worker Wages and Benefits

Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §626, first and 3rd ¶¶,  as amended by PL 1991, c. 162, are further amended to read:

An employee leaving employment must be paid in full within a reasonable time after demand at the office of the employer where payrolls are kept and wages are paid, provided cessation of employment, except that 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 include provisions for paid vacations, vacation pay on cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned.

For purposes of this subchapter, a reasonable time means the earlier of either the next day on which employees would regularly be paid or a day not more than 2 weeks after the day on which the demand is made cessation of employment.

summary

Current law provides that an employee whose employment has ceased is entitled to earned wages from the employer, including unused vacation time when paid vacation was included in the terms of employment, upon a reasonable time after that employee makes a demand for such payment from the employer, and that the employee may bring a civil action against an employer that does not comply with this requirement.

This bill eliminates the requirement that the employee make a demand for the earned compensation with the employer. Instead, earned wages must be paid by the employer within a reasonable amount of time after the cessation of employment, regardless of whether the employee has made a demand for the wages.