Maine: Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements

Requirements one by one

Full payment intervals may not exceed sixteen days

Under 26 M.R.S. § 621-A(1)-(2), covered employees must receive full payment at
regular intervals no longer than sixteen days. The employer must use an
established day or date and make that schedule known to the employee. Weekly,
biweekly, and semimonthly payroll can fit the cap; a longer interval cannot.

The statute does not impose fixed first-half and second-half earnings periods.
Its structural control is the maximum sixteen-day interval between full wage
payments.

Each payment has an eight-day earnings cutoff

Every payment must include all wages earned through the eighth day before the
payment date. For example, a July 16 payday must include wages earned through
July 8. The employer may include more recent wages too, but may not use a
cutoff earlier than the statutory one.

If the payment date falls on a day when the business is regularly closed,
payment is due no later than the following business day. An employee who is
absent at the fixed payment time must still be paid as though present.

A slower interval requires thirty days' written notice

The employer may not increase the payroll interval without written notice to
the employee at least thirty days before the increase. This rule concerns a
slower schedule—for example, moving from weekly to biweekly pay. The resulting
interval still may not exceed sixteen days.

Coverage has salaried, family, and owner exceptions

The family exception is narrow. Under 26 M.R.S. § 663(3)(J)-(K), it covers a
family member who both lives with and depends on the employer. The salaried
exception covers a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional
employee whose annualized regular compensation exceeds the higher statutory
threshold; it does not exempt every worker paid a salary.

Section 623 separately exempts employees of limited liability partnerships and
employee-stockholders of S corporations and cooperative entities. An exempt
stockholder-employee may request payment under § 621-A. The statute generally
bars an employer from creating another exemption by private contract.

Violations carry fines and wage remedies

Section 626-A expressly covers violations of §§ 621-A to 623. It sets a fine
of $100 to $500 for each violation and makes an employer liable for unpaid
wages. A judgment adds interest, costs, reasonable attorney fees, and an
additional amount equal to twice the unpaid wages as liquidated damages.

If wages are clearly due without a genuine dispute, employee remedies become
available eight days after the due date. If a bona fide dispute exists when
payment is due, remedies become available eight days after a demand when the
wages are actually due and remain unpaid. The employee or Department of Labor
may bring the action.

What trips people up

The eight-day rule is an earnings cutoff tied to payday, not permission to add
eight days after any payroll schedule the employer chooses. The employer must
also keep the full-payment interval at sixteen days or less.

The salaried exception is narrower than its shorthand suggests. Section
663(3)(K) requires the specified executive, administrative, or professional
capacity and compensation above the statutory threshold. Salary alone is not
enough.

When the business is regularly closed on payday, Maine moves payment to the
following business day. Employers should not assume every state moves a closed-
day payday earlier.

Common questions

May a Maine employer use semimonthly payroll?

Yes, if no interval between full payments exceeds sixteen days and each check
includes wages through the eighth day before payday.

Can an employer switch from weekly to biweekly pay immediately?

No. Increasing the interval requires at least thirty days' written notice, and
the new interval must remain within the sixteen-day cap.

Are all salaried employees exempt from the recurring-pay rule?

No. The exception is limited to workers who satisfy the statute's narrower
high-paid bona fide executive, administrative, or professional definition.
Merely receiving a salary does not create the exception.

Statutes and sources

• 26 M.R.S. § 621-A(1)-(2). Sixteen-day frequency, eight-day cutoff,
  payday scheduling and changes, and the closed-day rule.
  Official statute
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 26 M.R.S. § 623. LLP and owner-employee exemptions and prohibition on
  contractual exemptions.
  Official statute
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 26 M.R.S. § 663(3)(J)-(K). Resident-dependent family and qualifying
  salaried-employee definitions.
  Official statute
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• 26 M.R.S. § 626-A. Fine, wage recovery, liquidated damages, fees, and
  remedy timing.
  Official statute
  (accessed July 12, 2026).