Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §621-A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 156, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §621-B is enacted to read:

§621-B.__Payment of wages

1.__Certain employers; payment schedule.__Every corporation, person or partnership engaged in a manufacturing, mechanical, mining, quarrying, mercantile, restaurant, hotel, summer camp, beauty parlor, amusement, telegraph or telephone business; in any of the building trades; in a logging or lumbering operation; upon public works; or in the construction or repair of roads, bridges, sewers or gas, water or electric light works, pipes or lines; every incorporated express company or water company; and every steam railroad company or corporation shall pay weekly each employee engaged in its business the wages earned by the employee to within 8 days of the date of that payment; every county shall so pay every employee who is engaged in its business the wages or salary earned by that employee, unless the employee requests in writing to be paid in a different manner.__Municipalities shall pay their employees at least once every 2 weeks unless the employee agrees to be paid under a less frequent pay schedule.__An employee who is absent from that employee's regular place of employment at a time fixed for payment must be paid on demand.

This subsection only applies to employees who are paid minimum wage.

2.__All employers; payment of balance of hourly wages.__An employer shall pay to its employee, on or before the employee's next regularly scheduled payday, the balance of the employee's earned hourly wages due to be paid that were not paid on the date normally scheduled for payment of those wages.__This subsection may not be construed to permit nonpayment or withholding of payment of wages when due.

Sec. 3. 26 MRSA §622, as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c. 465, §3, is amended to read:

§622. Records

Every employer shall keep a true record showing the date and amount paid to each employee pursuant to section 621-A 621-B. Every employer shall keep a daily record of the time worked by each such employee unless the employee is paid a salary that is fixed without regard for the number of hours worked. Records required to be kept by this section must be accessible to any