Committee backs ag worker minimum wage bill that mirrors Mills' proposal last year

Yahoo

06-05-2025

Workers pick tomatoes at a farm owned and operated by Pacific Tomato Growers on February 19, 2021 in Immokalee, Florida. (Photo by)
Lawmakers have endorsed a bill this session that would grant farmworkers in Maine the right to minimum wage and has the potential to finally make it off the governor's desk.
The Legislature's Labor Committee voted 6-1 with multiple members absent to endorse LD 589, which would give agricultural workers the right to state minimum wage and mirrors the proposal Gov. Janet Mills put forward last session.
Before committee members broke to caucus ahead of the vote, Senate co-chair Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) said, 'This is the closest we have come and I hope we're in a good place here to finally pass a basic minimum wage for agricultural workers.'
There were two bills before the committee this session seeking to guarantee farmworkers the right to state minimum wage, since they are currently excluded from the section of law that provides a wage floor and overtime protections. Legally, they are only entitled to the $7.25 federal minimum wage; however, many farm owners say they pay workers even more than Maine's minimum wage of $14.65 an hour.
Earlier this session, the Labor Committee also supported a bill that would allow agricultural employees to talk about wages, working conditions and other employment matters with other employees or the employer. That bill has received initial approval from the Senate, but was tabled in the House of Representatives Tuesday, pending a vote.
Farmworker rights have been an ongoing discussion in the state as Mills has vetoed multiple pieces of legislation over her tenure seeking to secure labor protections, including her own bill last session. She said she could no longer support that proposal after the committee reworked the bill to allow farmworkers to bring their own private action against employers for violations.
House co-chair Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) said Tuesday that as a self-described 'idealist,' the legislation doesn't go as far as she would have liked, though ultimately supported the bill.
'I realize in legislation that we have to crawl before we can walk sometimes, but we've been crawling for an awful long time,' Roeder said.
When introducing LD 357 this session, Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) said he was appalled by the governor's actions last year. His bill was identical to the one the Labor Committee supported last year, but this time bolstered with a Republican as the lead sponsor.
Though the committee voted unanimously not to support Bennett's bill, Tipping thanked him for following the committee's work last session by introducing this measure.
Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland) originally took a different approach from Bennett with LD 589, which initially removed language that exempted farmworkers from current statute, rather than create a new section of law. However, this was a sticking point for the agricultural industry who worried that any future changes to that section of law could overlook the unique qualities of farming.
After amending LD 589 to address those concerns, the proposals had just two key differences. The legislation from Talbot Ross does not include a private right of action, leaving it up to the Department of Labor and the Office of the Maine Attorney General to handle any wage violations.
Additionally, the amended version of LD 589 includes language clarifying that the changes that would result from this legislation could not be construed to mean that agricultural workers were losing any existing rights.
Tipping highlighted this language before casting his vote in support of the bill, saying that he interprets it to mean that farmworkers won't lose their right to bring private action against an employer for other violations, such as not being paid any wages.
Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said that based on conversations she has had with the governor, Mills seems to be on board with the amended version of LD 589.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE