Bill
LD 799
Requires Maine employers to submit wage data to the Maine Department of Labor, which will analyze and publish reports on gender wage gaps to inform transparency and policy.
Overview
- Bill: LD 799 (LR 1179(01) / LR 1179(02))
- Title: An Act To Report Gender Wage Gaps
- Introduced: February 27, 2025
- Status: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to any special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature (pursuant to Joint Order SP 800)
- Committee: Labor
- Purpose: Establish a data collection and reporting framework to identify and summarize gender wage gaps among Maine employers, with reporting analyzed by the Department of Labor.
What the bill would do
- Require employers to provide wage-gap related data to the Maine Department of Labor.
- Task the Department with reviewing and summarizing the data collected from employers about gender wage gaps.
- Produce reporting or summaries intended to illuminate wage disparities between genders across industries, roles, and compensation.
- Establish an effective date of October 1, 2025 (as assumed in fiscal notes).
Key provisions and changes
- Data collection and reporting: Employers would supply wage data to support analysis of gender wage gaps.
- Department duties: The Department of Labor would summarize and review employer-submitted data, producing reports or findings.
- Effective date: Assumed October 1, 2025 in fiscal analyses.
- Compliance and enforcement: Not specified in the available documents, but data submission and summary requirements would be administered by the Department of Labor.
Fiscal impact and funding
- General Fund ongoing costs to the Department of Labor:
- FY 2025-26: $78,740
- FY 2026-27: $108,188
- FY 2027-28: $112,092
- FY 2028-29: $116,148
- Staffing: To support data review and summarization, the notes anticipate one Statistician III position plus related All Other costs.
- Revenue potential: The fiscal notes indicate a minor increase in General Fund revenue from additional filing fees associated with a likely rise in civil filings tied to wage-gap enforcement.
- These figures appear in both fiscal-note documents (LR 1179(01) and LR 1179(02)) and assume an effective date of October 1, 2025.
Affected entities
- Employers in Maine (both private and public sectors) that would provide wage data for gender gap analysis.
- Maine Department of Labor (administrative and analytical role).
Procedural timeline and status
- 02/27/2025: Referred to the Committee on Labor.
- 03/19–06/02/2025: Work sessions, amendments (notably Committee Amendment A, H-353), and multiple readings.
- 06/02–06/04/2025: Passed to be engrossed as amended; sent for concurrence.
- 06/05/2025: Placed on the Special Appropriations Table pending enactment.
- 06/25/2025: Carried over, in the same posture, to any special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature (SP 800).
Significance and considerations
- Purpose-driven transparency: The bill aims to quantify gender wage gaps in Maine and provide data-supported insights.
- Policy impact: Shifts some cost and data-collection responsibilities to the Department of Labor; potential for downstream policy discussions based on reported gaps.
- Legal/operational considerations: While not detailed in the documents, increased data collection could affect compliance obligations for employers and may influence civil actions related to wage discrimination.
Summary
LD 799 proposes a structured, data-driven approach to identifying gender wage gaps in Maine by requiring employer data submissions and enabling the Department of Labor to analyze and summarize the results. It would require ongoing General Fund funding, including a dedicated statistician, with incremental costs through 2028-29, and carries procedural implications as it awaits concurrence in any subsequent session.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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