In a welcome development for local employers, voters in Portland, Maine approved Municipal Question 1, which amended the emergency minimum wage ordinance so that it will only apply when the city of Portland—not the state—declares a state of emergency within city limits.
Portland voters resoundingly passed the amendment by a margin of 59% to 41%. The prior version of the ordinance, first enacted in November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, raised the city’s minimum wage by 50% any time a state of emergency was declared by either the city or the governor. In 2024, this meant paying a wage of at least $22.50 per hour.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, the ordinance has increasingly been a headache for Portland employers by requiring them to pay the abnormally high emergency minimum wage even when an emergency declared at the state level had little or no impact on Portland workers.
For example, in January 2024, Governor Mills declared a state of emergency in counties impacted by coastal flooding, which included Cumberland County. This triggered Portland’s emergency minimum wage despite the city suffering no serious impacts from the storm. Portland businesses understandably questioned the wisdom of this “one-size-fits-all” approach that, caused needless and unpredictable payroll increases.
Now that the emergency minimum wage ordinance has been amended, the ability to trigger the higher emergency minimum wage will be in the hands of local officials, who will make their decisions based on the existence of local hazards.
It remains to be seen how city officials will exercise this authority, but this amendment should relieve Portland employers from being at the mercy of emergency declarations that have no impact on the local community.
