URGENT ACTION NEEDED: LD 553 is Bad for Maine Businesses

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. 
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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