On April 24, 2026, Maine enacted H.P. 18 / L.D. 54 as Chapter 771, creating new pay transparency and pay-history recordkeeping requirements under 26 M.R.S.A. § 622-A. This update is applicable to Maine employers, with pay-range posting obligations applying to employers with 10 or more employees and pay-history recordkeeping obligations applying to all employers and
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On April 24, 2026, Maine enacted H.P. 18 / L.D. 54 as Chapter 771, creating new pay transparency and pay-history recordkeeping requirements under 26 M.R.S.A. § 622-A.
This update is applicable to Maine employers, with pay-range posting obligations applying to employers with 10 or more employees and pay-history recordkeeping obligations applying to all employers and takes effect July 29, 2026.
What Employers Need to Do
- Review job-posting practices to ensure that covered postings include a compliant prospective range of pay when the employer has 10 or more employees.
- For positions paid solely on commission, ensure the posting states that compensation is based solely on commission rather than listing a pay range.
- Prepare to respond to requests from current employees for the pay range of the position they currently hold.
- Implement or update recordkeeping systems to retain each employee’s positions held and pay history during employment and for 3 years after termination.
- Consider periodic multi-state reviews of pay transparency practices, especially if postings may reach Maine candidates or if the employer already operates in other pay-transparency jurisdictions.
Overview
- Maine enacted a new pay transparency law through L.D. 54, adding 26 M.R.S.A. § 622-A and joining the growing number of jurisdictions that require pay disclosures in job postings.
- Employers with 10 or more employees must include the prospective range of pay in a job posting.
- A posting includes recruiting for a specific available position, whether done directly by the employer or through a third party, and includes both electronic and printed postings.
- The law defines range of pay as the compensation range the employer anticipates relying on, which may be based on an applicable pay scale, a previously determined wage range, the actual wages of employees in equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount for the role.
- If compensation is based solely on commission, the employer does not need to list a pay range, but the posting must state that the position is paid solely on commission.
- Upon request, an employer must disclose the pay range for the position currently held by an employee.
- Regardless of size, employers must maintain records of each position held by an employee and the employee’s pay history during employment and for 3 years after termination.
- The law appropriates funding for an additional Labor and Safety Inspector position and related enforcement costs, signaling likely enforcement attention from the Maine Department of Labor.
Why This Matters
Maine’s new law imposes two distinct compliance tracks: a pay-range disclosure rule for employers with at least 10 employees and a recordkeeping rule that applies to all employers.
The law also creates practical compliance pressure because the definition of posting is broad and reaches both direct and third-party recruiting in electronic and printed formats.
For employers with multi-state recruiting or centralized HR systems, Maine adds another pay-transparency jurisdiction that may require updated posting templates, compensation governance, and retention practices.
Key Risks for Employers
- Failing to include a compliant pay range in covered Maine job postings once the law takes effect.
- Misapplying the commission-only exception by omitting both the pay range and the required statement that compensation is solely commission-based.
- Being unable to provide current employees with the pay range for their existing positions when requested.
- Inadequate retention of position-history and pay-history records during employment and for the required 3-year post-termination period.
- Increased Maine Department of Labor oversight because the law funds an additional enforcement position.
Additional Information
One unresolved issue noted in the secondary analysis is that the statute does not clearly specify whether the 10-employee threshold applies to employees in Maine or company-wide.
Given this ambiguity, employers should apply the threshold on a company-wide basis when determining coverage for job-posting disclosures to reduce the risk of noncompliance pending further guidance from the Main Department of Labor.
Source Reference
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