APPROVED CHAPTER
APRIL 7, 2022 561
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO
_____
H.P. 160 - L.D. 225
An Act Regarding the Treatment of Vacation Time upon the Cessation of
Employment
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §626, first ¶, as amended by PL 2017, c. 219, §11, is further
amended to read:
An employee leaving employment must be paid in full no later than the employee's
next established payday. Any overcompensation may be withheld if authorized under
section 635 and any loan or advance against future earnings or wages may be deducted if
evidenced by a statement in writing signed by the employee. Whenever the terms of
employment or the employer's established practice includes provisions for paid vacations,
vacation pay on cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned. All unused
paid vacation accrued pursuant to the employer's vacation policy on and after January 1,
2023 must be paid to the employee on cessation of employment unless the employee is
employed by an employer with 10 or fewer employees or by a public employer. If the
employee’s employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement that includes
provisions addressing payment of vacation pay upon cessation of employment, the
collective bargaining agreement supersedes this paragraph.
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §626, 5th ¶, as amended by PL 1991, c. 162, is further amended
to read:
An action for unpaid wages under this section may be brought by the affected employee
or employees or by the Department of Labor on behalf of the employee or employees. An
employer found in violation of this section is liable for the amount of unpaid wages and, in
all accrued vacation pay that must be paid to the employee or employees on cessation of
employment pursuant to this section. In addition, the judgment rendered in favor of the
employee or employees must include a reasonable rate of interest, an additional amount
equal to twice the amount of those unpaid wages and that accrued vacation pay as liquidated
damages and costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee.
Sec. 3. 26 MRSA §626, 6th ¶, as amended by PL 2017, c. 219, §12, is further
amended to read:
Page 1 - 130LR0680(03)
 Within 2 weeks after the sale of a business, the seller of the business shall pay
employees of that business any wages earned while employed by the seller. If the terms of
employment or the employer's established practice includes provisions for paid vacations,
vacation pay on cessation of employment has the same status as wages earned. All unused
paid vacation accrued pursuant to the employer's vacation policy on and after January 1,
2023 must be paid to the employees on cessation of employment unless the employer has
10 or fewer employees or is a public employer. If the employees' employment is governed
by a collective bargaining agreement that includes provisions addressing payment of
vacation pay upon cessation of employment, the collective bargaining agreement
supersedes this paragraph. The seller of a business may comply with the provisions of this
paragraph through a specific agreement with the buyer in which the buyer agrees to pay
any wages earned by employees through employment with the seller and to honor any paid
vacation earned under the seller's vacation policy.
Sec. 4. 26 MRSA §626, as amended by PL 2017, c. 219, §§11 and 12, is further
amended by enacting at the end a new paragraph to read:
For the purposes of this section, "public employer" means the State, a county, a
municipality, the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System, a
school administrative unit and any other political body or its political or administrative
subdivision.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 225, HP 160: 26.626
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 561: 26.626