Farmworkers now ‘belong fully' in Maine minimum wage laws
Farmworkers' exclusion from state law was 'rooted in racism,' said Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, but updating the statute sends a message to all laborers that they 'belong fully under Maine law' and should not 'be paid poverty wages to do essential work.' (Photo by Hill Street Studios/ Getty Images)
After multiple attempts in recent years, farmworkers will now have the right to state minimum wage like most other employees in Maine.
Gov. Janet Mills signed the right into law on Tuesday after the Legislature passed LD 589 earlier this month. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland), described it as an act of history. The law creates a new section in state statute that affords agricultural workers the state minimum wage, which is currently $14.65 an hour, since current laws exclude them.
'Our laws now better reflect our values,' Talbot Ross said. 'There is more to do, but today, we move forward — together, and with purpose.'
Talbot Ross said that exclusion from state law was 'rooted in racism,' but updating the statute sends a message to all laborers that they 'belong fully under Maine law' and should not 'be paid poverty wages to do essential work.'
Many employers said the workers are already being paid minimum wage or more, but the new law will provide that all are entitled to at least that amount starting Jan. 1, 2026. It also includes provisions for yearly cost of living increases to the minimum wage, employer record keeping and penalties for violations.
The newly enacted law mirrors a proposal Mills put forward last session, but ultimately vetoed after it was changed by the Legislature's Labor Committee to include a private right of action. What will now be in statute gives the Department of Labor exclusive authority to bring action on behalf of an employee for unpaid minimum hourly wages.
However, the legislation also maintains any existing rights agricultural workers have.
Although some argued the law still doesn't go far enough in offering farmworkers basic labor protections, agricultural and labor leaders around the state still praised the progress.
'For too long, the people who put food on our table were denied even the bare minimum: the right to the state minimum wage,' said Matt Schlobohm, executive director of Maine AFL-CIO. 'No more. With this bill signed into law, we're finally ending a two-tiered system that treated farmworkers as second-class.'
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association said the changes aren't perfect, but 'an important compromise.'
Though the organization described it as 'a bare bones policy to protect the people who…ensure that we have food on our tables,' it also thanked Talbot Ross, Mills and the others involved for 'correcting an error on the law books.'
A bill seeking to grant agricultural workers the right to engage in concerted activity was also sent to Mills for her approval earlier this month. She has yet to sign it.
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