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Governor Mills Proclaims March 12 National Equal Pay Day in Maine 
March 12, 2024
For Immediate Release: March 12, 2024
Governor Mills Proclaims March 12 National Equal Pay Day in Maine
According to the United States Census Bureau, the difference between median earnings for men and women in Maine who worked full-time, year-round in 2022 was $9,370.
MAINE - Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed March 12, 2024 National Equal Pay Day in Maine, symbolizing how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. Nationally, women age 15 and over who are working full-time, year-round are on average paid just 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. The wage gap is even more pronounced for women of color. Nationally in 2022, African American women made 63 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic or Latina women just 58 cents on the dollar compared to white, non-Hispanic men.
"On this Equal Pay Day, let us recommit to paying women fairly and equally based on their experience, their responsibilities, and their qualifications so that we can level the playing field for women across Maine and ensure that our state provides opportunity for all," said Governor Janet Mills. "Not only is it good public policy, but it's the right thing to do."
Requirements regarding equal pay have been a part of Maine law since 1949, but wage inequality persists. To promote pay equality, Governor Mills signed legislation in 2019 to discourage employers from basing wages on an employee's salary history.
"The difference between median earnings for men and women in Maine who worked full-time, year-round in 2022 was over $9,000. Women, in general, have had to work until half-way through March to earn what men already earned in the previous year, and the reality is even starker for women of color," said Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. "On Equal Pay Day, we acknowledge that equal pay for all women is an issue of basic fairness, and we recommit to that goal. Our state's economy cannot achieve its full potential if women's contributions are not appropriately valued."
Nationally, as of 2022, the average differences in median earnings between white, non-Hispanic or Latino men and women of color are $28,747 for American Indian and Alaska Native women, $25,844 for Black or African American women, and $3,282 for Asian women.
According to the 2018-2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the five occupational groups in Maine with the largest wage gaps are legal occupations; health diagnosing and treating practitioners; sales and related occupations; production occupations; and transportation occupations.
"Decades into our fight for equal pay in the workplace, we still haven't achieved parity," said Destie Hohman Sprague, Executive Director of the Maine Women's Lobby. "Sexism and racism together keep the pay gap alive - and lack of caregiving infrastructure, such as childcare, paid family and medical leave, and other care supports exacerbate this problem, by keeping women in lower-paying and part-time jobs, or pushed out of the workforce completely. Equal Pay Day is a chance to shine a light on this problem and identify solutions that will work for all of us."
"Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the new year the average woman must work in order to have earned what the average man had earned by the end of the previous year. At the same time, it's important to remember that the pay gap for women varies by demographic, so for African women Equal Pay Day is on July 9, for Latina women its October 3 and for Native American women it's November 30," said Cynthia Phinney, President of the AFL-CIO. "The best way to close the pay gap and fight wage discrimination is with a union contract, so as we recognize this important day, we also affirm our resolve to ensure all women regardless of race or national origin have the right to join a union free from coercion and intimidation."
"Women of every race and background work hard to keep Maine families, businesses, and services running. Their work has equal value, but women, especially Latina, Black, and Indigenous women, aren't compensated at rates equal to men," said Ariel Ricci, Executive Director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations. "Everyone does better when women of all races and ethnicities get paid what their work is truly worth."
Maine's Equal Pay Law requires that employees be paid the same wages as employees of the opposite sex for work that is of a comparable nature in skill, effort, and responsibility.
MDOL's Bureau of Labor Standards, who enforces the Equal Pay Law in Maine, has a poster available for employers free of charge that outlines the basics of the law:
- An employer may not discriminate between employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying wages to any employee at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility.
- An employer may not prohibit employees from discussing their wages with coworkers.
Anyone who believes they are not being paid the same wages as an employee of the opposite sex for comparable work, should file an equal pay complaint. The Maine Department of Labor has a printable equal pay complaint form here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/publications/epcomplaintform.pdf
A mailed or emailed complaint form can be requested by contacting the Wage and Hour Division at 207-623-7900 or mdol@maine.gov.
More information on equal pay can be found on the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Women's Bureau website: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/equal-pay-protections.
