Category: Maine
Compromise Reached in Maine Workers’ Compensation Reform
Governor Mills has signed into law amendments to the existing Workers' Compensation Act that are the product of a bipartisan effort to avoid a series of proposed legislation that would have had the very real risk of dragging Maine back to pre-1992 status. With the election of a Democratic...
Maine Passes Recreational Marijuana Statute—What Does This Mean for Employers
While still up for debate (as of the time of the writing of this blog), most news outlets and agencies in Maine are reporting that Question 1 on yesterday's ballot has passed—therefore providing for recreational use of marijuana in Maine. What does this mean for employers? That is the...
Governor's Panel Finds No Bias at Maine Human Rights Commission
Earlier this week, the Governor's Panel to Review and Make Recommendations for Improvement of the Maine Human Rights Commission and Its Operations issued its report finding specifically that "there was no evidence that the MHRC or its staff ever intentionally meant to be unfair or biased toward any party."...
Will The New Maine Opiate Control Law Impact the Workers’ Compensation System?
Stories of the horrors of opiate over-prescription and abuse are abundant, and Maine has not been spared the ravages of that epidemic. In response to the growing problem, Governor LePage, in April of this year, signed into law a bill intended to place some limits on the prescription of...
Maine’s Newest Employment Laws
Earlier this month, Maine's highest court, the Law Court, held that Governor LePage's veto attempts came too late—meaning that 65 laws which he had not taken timely action on are law. Included in these 65 laws is L.D. 921, which (as a result of the Governor's failure to act...
Maine Labor Committee Rejects Right-to-Work Bill
Maine will not become the first state in the Northeast to pass a right-to-work law. Yesterday , law makers in Augusta on the Legislature's Labor Committee voted 7-6 to recommend that the full Legislature kill the bill. Right-to-work laws guarantee that employees who work in a unionized environment not...
Legislative Update: Maine’s “Retail Workers Bill of Rights”
For all our friends and colleagues in the hospitality and retail sectors of the Maine economy, please be mindful of two pending pieces of legislation in Augusta that could affect minimum standards as to pay and work schedules for Maine employers in the retail industry. Read more here...
