Maine's minimum wage gets a 50-cent boost for the New Year

Maine’s minimum wage is increasing by 50 cents an hour as of Jan. 1, to $14.65.

The increase is just one of several pay changes that will take effect at the start of 2025, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

Under a 2016 referendum, Maine law requires annual adjustments to its minimum wage based on the cost-of-living index for the Northeast. Between August 2023 and August 2024, the index showed a 3.6 percent increase. The 50 cent bump is an increase of just over 3.5 percent.

Also included in the pay boosts is the state’s “tip wage,” which is earned by service employees like restaurant waitstaff.

The “tip wage” will rise to $7.33 per hour. According to the labor department, that brings the amount of tips necessary to qualify as a service employee to $185 a month, up from $179 per month.

This means employees must receive at least a direct cash wage of $7.33 an hour from their employers. Service employers must be able to show that workers receive at least the minimum wage of $14.65 an hour when wages and tips are combined.

While those pay boosts apply to the state as a whole, the city of Portland has its own minimum wage scale.

There, the minimum wage will rise to $15.50 per hour for hourly employees or $7.75 for “tip” or service employees.

New pay thresholds determining eligibility for overtime pay will also take effect on Jan. 1. Salaried employees earning up to $1,128 per week or $58,656 a year will now be eligible for overtime pay. That amount is up from $816.35 per week or $42,450.20 per year in 2024.

The pay marker is just one of the factors used to determine whether a worker is exempt from overtime pay under federal or state law. Under the guidelines, workers’ duties also must be considered.