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September 11, 2025
Business needs sometimes lead an employer to cancel an employee’s scheduled shift or reduce the number of hours in that shift. A new law in Maine – effective on September 24, 2025 – will guarantee an employee a certain amount of pay for such shifts. See 2025 Me. SP 282 – LD 598.
Specifically, if an employee reports to work at the employer’s request and the employer cancels or reduces the hours in the shift, the employer must pay the employee the lesser of:
An employer is not liable to pay such wages if it makes a “documented good faith effort” to notify an employee not to report to work.
This law does not apply if an employee is not required to work or is unable to work due to adverse weather conditions; a natural disaster or civil emergency; the employee’s illness or medical condition; or the employee’s workplace injury.
An employer who violates this law will be subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 for each violation.
Maine Employers: Update your payroll policies and practices to address this new law. Furthermore, to avoid having to pay employees for non-working hours or fines, do your best to assess your business needs in advance of each shift and notify employees not to report to work if you will not need them.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Maine, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
