AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would put farmworkers under Maine’s minimum wage laws, prompting a stern rebuke from another top Democrat.
The bill from House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, would cover farmworkers under Maine’s annually indexed minimum wage of $13.80 per hour. An amendment removed a portion of the original bill that would have allowed workers to benefit from overtime laws that mandate they receive 1 1/2 times their regular pay for hours worked over the 40-hour workweek.
The Legislature is returning Tuesday to vote on whether to override vetoes from Mills. At least two-thirds of lawmakers must vote to override a veto.
Mills wrote in her veto letter she supports a minimum wage for farmworkers but is concerned about “a series of questions from members of the agricultural community about the true scope of the language.” She pledged to issue an executive order to formally reestablish a group “to allow for a longer and more in-depth analysis” and present a bill based on those findings.
Maine is one of 19 states that does not apply its minimum wage laws to most farmworkers, according to the National Agricultural Law Center. This is in part because they are not classified as employees under state law, remaining subject to the $7.25 federal hourly minimum wage and left out of mandatory overtime laws.
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