Maine Employers are Subject to Heightened Compliance Scrutiny and New Workplace Surveillance Rules Starting July 14

Expanded Enforcement Powers for the Maine Department of Labor

Historically, the Maine Department of Labor’s (MDOL) enforcement and investigative profile has taken a backseat to federal agencies such as the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor and, of course, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. However, as of July 14, 2026, regulators within the Bureau of Labor Standards unit within MDOL will have a much more powerful toolkit at their disposal for responding to alleged violations of state wage and hour and employment laws.

As the result of legislative action undertaken by the 132^nd Legislature, the provisions of 26 M.R.S.A. § 54 provide the MDOL with robust powers to initiate, investigate, penalize, and collect fines from employers accused of non-compliance.

Until now, MDOL had few resources and little meaningful authority for the purpose of enforcing Maine’s wage and hour, fair employment practices, and unemployment compensation laws. Future compliance was the most common objective sought by regulators. Now, the Director of Labor Standards has explicit authority to:

• Undertake investigations that are not generated by a formal complaint; 
• Issue subpoenas for the purpose of compelling sworn testimony from company representatives;
• Require production of legally required records such as an employer’s electronic records, payroll data, HR documents, and internal memoranda when investigating suspected violations. 

If investigators determine that an employer has violated applicable Maine law, the Director is authorized to issue a notice of violation; order payment of wages, liquidated damages, interest, and penalties; and mandate corrective action consistent with existing enforcement provisions.

Once an employer has exhausted all administrative and judicial appeals, employers found to have violated Maine law must pay any ordered monetary remedies within 30 calendar days and must certify payment of wages, damages, or interest within 7 calendar days, under penalty of perjury. Failure to do so or to correct an ongoing violation can expose an employer to additional civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day.

Also notable is the fact that the new law provides the Director with “levy authority” to collect unpaid wages, damages, interest, or penalties, when required. In other words, if an employer fails to pay amounts adjudged to be due, the Director may issue a notice of levy to third parties (including banks or other entities holding non‑exempt property or debts of the employer) requiring assets to be frozen and applied toward the debt. Third parties that comply with a levy are shielded from liability to the employer, while those that improperly transfer or conceal property subject to a levy may be held liable for the amount of the employer’s indebtedness.

Finally, the new law introduces meaningful transparency obligations, allowing the MDOL to compel employers to post notices of violations in their workplace and issue formal disclosures of non-compliance to all current and former employees affected by the violation, through the use of first-class mail, email communication, or text message.

Without question, Maine employers that previously aligned their compliance efforts with federal legal standards given the higher probability that they would be subject to scrutiny by federal regulators must recalibrate their thinking. Facing MDOL regulators who now wield substantial enforcement powers – and a statute of limitations period that can run up to six (6) years with respect to many types of employment claims under state law – employers need to be more vigilant than ever in stress-testing their compliance practices with respect to Maine’s employment, wage and hour, and unemployment compensation laws.

Workplace Monitoring & Surveillance Protections

Maine has also taken a significant step toward regulating workplace surveillance and electronic monitoring by employers. Effective July 14, 2026, 26 M.R.S.A. § 620-A imposes new legal guardrails on employer surveillance and creates mandatory disclosure obligations for employers that monitor employees through electronic means.

At its core, the law combines an express set of prohibited practices with new mandatory disclosure obligations. These obligations apply to all Maine employers, both public and private, regardless of workforce size.

Specifically, employers are now prohibited from:

• Conducting employee surveillance and monitoring, and implementing new forms, without first providing notice to employees;
• Using audiovisual monitoring in an employee’s residence, personal vehicle, or personal property unless such monitoring is required or necessary for the employee’s job duties; and
• Forcing employees to allow the installation of data‑collection or tracking applications on their own personal electronic devices used for work such as smartphones and notebook computers (as opposed to employer-provided devices). 

The statutory definition of “surveillance” is broadly construed, encompassing monitoring employees through an electronic device or system, including computers, telephones, wire or radio systems, electromagnetic or optical systems, and similar technologies. This could encompass monitoring undertaken through mobile device tracking, remote attendance applications, productivity tracking tools such as keystroke logging and screen-capture applications, and telephone call monitoring and recording systems.

Excepted from the restrictions imposed by the new law is the use of surveillance cameras used for security or safety purposes and the use of GPS devices or vehicle tracking technologies installed on employer-owned vehicles operated by employees for work.

Employers are also subject to new disclosure requirements that must be provided to both employees and job applicants. Section 620-A obligates employers to notify prospective job candidates during the interview process that they engage in workplace surveillance and monitoring and they also provide annual written disclosure to all current employees.

Because employees now have the right to decline an employer's request to install data collection or transmission apps used for surveillance on their personal electronic devices used for work, it is imperative for Maine employers that have applied Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policies in the past to reassess the right of their employees to use their own smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs to access work information.

Maine law now follows in the footsteps of similar notice requirements for workplace surveillance monitoring in Connecticut, Delaware, and New York. Although Section 620-A does not provide for a private right of action, meaning that employees cannot directly sue their employers to enforce these obligations, employers found to be in violation of the law by MDOL will be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 for each violation. 

Later this month, we'll issue a second alert addressing two more significant changes for employers – updates to Maine's pay transparency and drug testing law, both taking effect July 29, 2026. Employers should begin reviewing their policies now to ensure compliance across all four new requirements. If you have questions on how these changes impact your organization, please reach out to a member of our Employment Law team.