Governor Janet Mills yesterday signed into law a measure that will double the minimum wage for agricultural workers.
Maine currently guarantees agricultural workers the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, less than half of the state minimum wage of $14.65.
Michael Guare, an attorney in the farmworker unit at Pine Tree Legal Assistance attorney, said the law helps fill gaps in federal protections.
"It is a correction of a long standing and very unfair exclusion of farm workers from some of the most basic labor protections on the federal level," he said.
Democratic state senator Rachel Talbot Ross, the bill's sponsor, called the increase a "long overdue step toward justice."
Mills had vetoed a similar version of the bill last year, after lawmakers added provisions that she opposed.
The new wage requirements will take effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns.
