Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
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Thousands of employees in Portland started making up to $7 more an hour Thursday because of a city law triggered by Gov. Janet Mills’ state of emergency declaration in advance of Hurricane Lee. The ordinance, updated in a 2020 referendum, includes a clause on hazard pay during a declared emergency that bumps up Portland’s minimum wage by 150%.
Mills’ declaration means that all private, non-remote employees in Portland have been making at least $21 an hour since Thursday, while tipped workers are making at least $10.50 an hour.
The hurricane was expected to hit Down East Maine this weekend, but the trajectory has since changed, though Maine is still under a tropical-storm warning. The coast of Maine and beyond are expected to battle winds from 35 mph to 50 mph, beach erosion and flooding rains. A Mills’ spokesman said the emergency declaration will stay in place until the impacts of the storm are fully assessed.
The controversial law has put business owners and advocates at odds with employees and labor advocates. Labor organizers feel that hazard pay is a way to compensate employees for putting themselves at risk by working in an emergency. But some feel that it is detrimental to business owners, particularly those who can’t afford to run a business with more expensive payrolls, but can’t afford to temporarily close up shop, either.
This is only the second time Portland’s hazard pay law has gone into effect. The minimum...
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