The Maine Legislature could vote as early as next Wednesday, May 19th on LD 553, An Act to End At-Will Employment. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Sylvester (D-Portland), would end centuries of at-will employment in Maine by terminating the right of an employer to fire an employee without just cause. It received a favorable vote out of the Committee on Labor and Housing on May 7th, and your help is needed to ensure the full legislature does not adopt this misguided attempt to overhaul labor markets in Maine. 

This would mean employees could only be terminated following a progressive three-step disciplinary process, documenting each step in writing. Harmful impact of this bill include:

• LD 553 imposes a costly, complicated and burdensome termination process on employers that will inevitably lead to increased litigation. Every step of the three-step disciplinary process in this bill would be subject to endless dispute and litigation, making it harder for employers to terminate employees, even for the most egregious of offenses. 
• LD 553 gives no guidance to businesses on how to treat seasonal employees or other economic related layoffs. As written this bill would require employers to follow the "just cause" process even in these cases. 
• LD 553 removes an employer's ability to nimbly manage their workforce to ensure they can meet the demands of an ever evolving economy. If COVID-19 has shown businesses anything, it's the importance of hiring and terminating employees at will as economic and public health guidelines dictate. 
• LD 553 would make Maine one of just two states to lack the employment at-will doctrine. This would imperil our state's ability to recruit out of state jobs to Maine, and would severely impact the appetite for new entrepreneurs to start businesses in our state. 

​How can you help ensure this bill fails? Contact your legislator to share the adverse impacts this would have on your business. Given the favorable vote out of committee this will mean all hands on deck to share with legislators how harmful this bill would be.

Contact information for Greater Portland area legislators can be found at the following links:

• Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, & Scarborough)
• Sen. Cathy Breen (D-Falmouth, Cumberland, & Westbrook)
• Sen. Stacey Brenner (D-Gorham & Scarborough) 
• Sen. Ben Chipman (D-Portland)
• Sen. Heather Sanborn (D-Portland & Westbrook)
• Rep. Chris Kessler (D-South Portland & Cape Elizabeth)
• Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth)
• Rep. Stephen Moriarty (D-Cumberland)
• Rep. Teresa Pierce (D-Falmouth)
• Rep. Ed Crockett (D-Portland & Falmouth)
• Rep. Maureen Terry (D-Gorham)
• Rep. Kyle Bailey (D-Gorham & Scarborough)
• Rep. Benjamin Collings (D-Portland)
• Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland)
• Rep. Michael Sylvester (D-Portland)
• Rep. Michael Brennan (D-Portland)
• Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland)
• Rep. Barbara Wood (D-Portland)
• Rep. Sam Zager (D-Portland)
• Rep. Chris Caiazzo (D-Scarborough)
• Rep. Sophie Warren (I-Scarborough)
• Rep. Lois Reckitt (D-South Portland)
• Rep. Victoria Morales (D-South Portland)
• Rep. Morgan Rielly (D-Westbrook)
• Rep. Suzanne Salisbury (D-Westbrook)

Read More on LD553 from the Maine State Chamber

This section is contributed by our exclusive Advocacy Update sponsor Verrill and their lobbying and communications group, Maine Street Solutions. 

​The Mills Administration has released a series of spending proposals that will now head to the Legislature for consideration, amendment, and eventual passage. See below for details on the Administration’s proposals for a) spending federal relief dollars; b) a supplemental budget for the upcoming biennium; and c) a bond package.

Maine Jobs & Recovery Act
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Act is the Mills Administration’s proposal to invest more than $1 billion in discretionary Federal relief funds allocated to Maine under the American Rescue Plan Act. The plan draws heavily on recommendations from the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee and the State’s 10-Year Economic Development Strategy.

The primary goals of the proposal are:

• Immediate economic recovery from the pandemic;
• Long-term economic growth for Maine; and
• Infrastructure revitalization.

Biennial Budget “Part Two”
Given the recent positive revenue forecast from the State’s Revenue Forecasting Committee, the Administration has proposed a supplemental budget for the upcoming two years (starting July 1, 2021) that builds upon the biennial budget passed by the Legislature in March.

The “part two” budget proposal includes:

• Meeting the State’s obligation to fund 55% of local K-12 education costs;
• Enhanced municipal revenue sharing;
• Investments in MaineCare for increased reimbursement rates, payments to providers, and more;
• Property tax relief through the Property Tax Fairness Credit;
• Enhanced State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child & Dependent Care Credit and employer-provided dependent care benefits;
• Infrastructure improvements;
• Funding for remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS);
• and more.
  
  

Bond Package
The Mills Administration has also released its bond package for the year. While Governor Mills initially laid out an ambitious bonding agenda back in January, she scaled back her approach after passage of the Federal American Rescue Plan.

The Administration’s bond package now includes:

• $100 million to maintain and upgrade Maine’s transportation system through the Maine Department of Transportation
• $40 million for the Land for Maine’s Future program.

These three spending proposals will now head to the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee for review.

Read More About the Maine Jobs & Recovery Act