More Domestic Service and Direct Care Workers
to be Covered by Minimum Wage and Overtime Laws in Maine
Most Maine workers are protected by laws that require them to be paid at least the minimum wage and overtime when it is due. Some
are not. Now many more domestic service and direct care workers in Maine have these basic protections.
This is due to the passage of a bill that was introduced by Representative Ann Haskell (D. Portland) at the request of the Department
of Labor. Beginning September 20, 2007 most employees of agencies providing housekeeping and personal care services will be entitled to
minimum wage and overtime under Maine law.
This law is an important step forward. Two groups of workers within these industries will not be covered by this new law, however.
They are:
- Workers hired directly by the homeowner or consumer needing services or their family; and
- Workers employed by a “publicly supported non-profit agency.”
Newly covered workers must be paid at least the minimum wage ($7.00/hour beginning October 1, 2007) for all hours that they work.
They must also receive “overtime pay” (time and one-half their normal pay) if they work more than 40 hours in their work week.
What does an ‘hour worked’ mean?
An employee’s work week usually includes all of the time that you are required to be:
- At the employer’s place of business;
- On duty; OR
- At a place where you are scheduled to work by the employer.
You must be paid for all of the hours worked in that week, including hours that you are “suffered or permitted” to work. This
means, for example, that an employee who voluntarily continues to work at the end of a shift to finish up an assigned task must be
paid for that extra work unless the employer told the employee not to continue working.
This new law is very important for domestic service
and direct care workers because of the type of work that they do. They often have to travel, and are sometimes asked to go to training
programs as part of their jobs. In some cases, these activities are considered “hours worked” and the employee must be paid for that
time.
Travel time. Workers who provide housekeeping or personal care services often travel to several different locations to do
their job
in the course of a day. Time spent traveling from job site to job site is work time. It must be counted as an “hour worked.”
This means that the worker must be paid at least the minimum wage for that time. It also means that at the end of the work week,
those travel hours must be counted to see if the worker has worked more than 40 hours in that week. If so, they are entitled to
overtime pay. The time spent traveling from home to work and from work to home is not considered work time. The employer is not
required to pay for this time.
Time spent at training programs and work-related meetings. Attendance at training programs or meetings is considered “hours worked.”
An employee must be paid for this time. The minimum wage and overtime requirements do not apply, however, when all four of the
following conditions apply to the event:
- It is outside of normal work hours;
- Attendance is voluntary;
- It is not job-related; AND
- No other work is being performed at the same time.
For more information about minimum wage and overtime laws, contact:
Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards
45 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333
Phone: 207-623-7900 (TTY: 1-800-794-1110)
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