Mills administration cracking down on employer wage and hour violations

Although recently bolstered, the team of inspectors remains smaller than it was 50 years ago, which means relying on worker complaints, said James Myall, a policy analyst at the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy. The power imbalance between employees and managers in low-wage, hourly industries means many people fear making those calls, he added.

Myall estimates Maine workers lost $30 million in wages as a result of labor violations in 2017.

“Some of the estimates out there suggest there is a lot more going on than they are able to catch with this inspection capacity,” he said.

Click here to read the full story, first published February 6, 2022 in the Portland Press Herald.