PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Workers in Maine’s largest city are getting a big pay raise on Saturday thanks to the hazard pay ordinance.
The pay increases to $19.50 effective Jan. 1 after the Portland City Council postponed action on repealing an emergency pandemic order in December.
The ordinance was enacted in 2020 and was subject to legal and political challenges. The state supreme court upheld the ordinance in July, but said it would not take effect until January 2022.
With the state of emergency still in effect, minimum wage workers will get bumped up 1 1/2 times their current pay to $19.50 per hour.
