AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine employers with 10 or more employees are now required to include a prospective range of pay when advertising available positions, giving job seekers more information about compensation before they apply.
The requirement is part of LD 54, An Act to Require Employers to Disclose Pay Ranges and Maintain Records of Employees’ Pay Histories, which took effect July 29, 2026. The measure was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills on April 24, 2026.
For people considering a move to Maine, the new law could make it easier to evaluate employment opportunities and compare potential earnings with housing, transportation and other living expenses before making a relocation decision.
What Maine Employers Must Include in Job Postings
Under the new law, employers with 10 or more employees must ensure that job postings include a statement listing the prospective range of pay that will be offered to the successful applicant.
The requirement applies to solicitations intended to recruit applicants for a specific available position, including recruitment conducted directly by an employer or indirectly through a third party. It covers both electronic and printed postings.
The law defines a “range of pay” as the range an employer anticipates relying upon when setting wages for the position. That range may be based on an applicable pay scale, a previously established wage range, wages currently paid to employees in equivalent positions or the amount budgeted for the position.
Jobs compensated solely by commission are treated differently. Instead of listing a conventional pay range, the posting must indicate that compensation for the position is based solely on commission.
Current Maine Employees Gain New Rights, Too
LD 54 reaches beyond job advertisements.
Current employees may request the range of pay their employer offers for the position they currently hold. Employers are also required to maintain records of each position held by an employee and the employee’s pay history during employment and for three years following separation from employment.
The Maine Department of Labor says the changes are among several new labor laws intended to modernize workplace protections while providing greater clarity for employers.
Why Pay Transparency Matters When Moving to Maine
For prospective Mainers, compensation is one of the biggest pieces of the relocation equation.
Someone living in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York or another state may previously have encountered a Maine job advertisement that described the position and qualifications without clearly stating what the employer expected to pay.
That can make it difficult to determine whether pursuing the position—and potentially relocating for it—makes financial sense.
With covered employers now required to disclose prospective pay ranges, job seekers can evaluate compensation earlier in the process. A family considering Greater Portland, for example, can compare an advertised salary against local housing costs before investing significant time in interviews. Someone looking at Bangor, Augusta, Lewiston-Auburn or a rural Maine community can make similar calculations based on the cost of living in that region.
The change may be particularly useful for remote workers considering Maine, trailing spouses seeking employment after a household move, recent graduates and professionals relocating to the state for a new career opportunity.
What Maine Businesses Should Review
For employers covered by LD 54, the change means job-posting procedures should now incorporate compensation information from the beginning of the recruiting process.
Businesses should review postings appearing on their own websites as well as positions advertised through employment websites, recruiters and other third-party services. Because the law expressly includes recruitment conducted indirectly through a third party, employers should make sure outside recruiting partners have accurate pay information.
Employers should also have procedures for responding to current employees who request the pay range for their existing positions and for maintaining the employment and compensation records required by the law.
A More Transparent Maine Job Market
Maine’s new requirement adds another piece of information for people trying to answer one of the most important questions involved in moving to a new state: Can I build a sustainable career and household here?
Housing availability, wages, taxes, commuting distances and everyday living expenses can vary considerably across Maine. Knowing an employer’s prospective pay range before applying gives relocating workers another concrete number to use when comparing communities and employment opportunities.
For Maine businesses competing for workers—including candidates from outside the state—the law also means compensation will increasingly become part of the first impression a company makes on prospective employees.