Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements in Maine

At a glance

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).