If an employee reports to work and is sent home because their shift is canceled or shortened, the employer must pay the employee the lesser of: (1) two hours of pay at the employee’s regular hourly rate, or (2) the total amount the employee would have earned for the originally scheduled shift.
For example, if an employee scheduled for a four-hour shift is sent home after one hour, they must be paid for two hours. If an employee scheduled for a one-hour shift is sent home after fifteen minutes, they must be paid for the one-hour shift.
The law provides exceptions if the employee is prevented from working due to adverse weather, a natural disaster or civil emergency, or the employee’s own illness or workplace injury.
Employers can avoid liability by making documented good faith efforts to notify an employee not to report for work. If these efforts are unsuccessful and the employee reports to work, the employee must perform any assigned duties that the employer has available, provided the employee is physically able. If there are no duties to assign, the employer must compensate the employee as outlined above.
Non-compliance can result in fines ranging from $100 to $500 per violation.
The Maine Department of Labor may adopt rules to implement and enforce the new law, although no rules have been adopted yet.
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