AUGUSTA — A new Maine law requiring larger employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings is set to take effect in late July, about 90 days after the Legislature’s adjournment, following a party-line vote earlier this year.
Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 54 in April, requiring businesses with more than 10 employees to include a prospective pay range when posting job openings and to disclose pay ranges to current employees upon request. Employers must also maintain pay history records for the duration of an employee’s tenure plus three years.
Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure gives job applicants information they need before committing to a lengthy application process and helps address pay disparities among current employees performing similar work.
The Legislature appropriated just over $81,000 from the state’s general fund for the 2026-27 fiscal year to cover enforcement costs. Democrats on the Legislature’s Labor Committee and in floor votes supported the bill unanimously, while Republicans opposed it in both chambers.
The Maine Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, argued the law could inadvertently harm job seekers and place an outsized compliance burden on small businesses already navigating a tight labor market.
The pay transparency law joins a wave of similar measures adopted in other states in recent years, as Maine becomes one of a growing number of states requiring salary disclosure in job listings.