The 2000-2001 session of the 120th Maine Legislature, the first under the State’s Clean Elections Law, recently adjourned in Augusta.  As in years past, the employment setting in Maine was a focal point of major legislative proposals.  Of the nearly 1,900 bills considered by the House and Senate, several sought to impact the relationship between Maine employers and their employees.  As discussed in greater detail below, these legislative proposals engendered much debate at the Capitol and, in the end, met varying fates.

Of those ultimately enacted into law, perhaps the most significant legislation brought about the first raise in the minimum wage since the beginning of Governor Angus King’s administration.  L.D. 1591, "An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage," hikes the State’s minimum wage to $5.65 per hour starting January 1, 2002, with an increase to $6.15 per hour starting January 1, 2003.  The bill further provides employers with fewer than 15 employees with a tax credit equal to the lesser of 20% of health benefits paid under a health benefit plan or $125 per employee with health benefits coverage.  Finally, the legislation increases the earned income tax credit to 10% of the federal earned income for 2002, and 15% for 2003 and beyond.
Other legislation enacted by the 120th Legislature will likewise change employer-employee relationships.  These include: L.D. 83, which expands an employer’s right to hire replacement workers during a labor dispute, but requires employers to hire back permanent workers in favor of replacement workers once the labor dispute is settled; L.D. 198, which requires an employer to post in a conspicuous place the terms under which an employee may be terminated and prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who provides information or testimony against the employer; and L.D. 1086, which prevents a licensed nurse or other health care worker who provides direct care to patients from being disciplined for refusing to accept overtime work.

Of the legislative proposals rejected during this legislative session, none had greater potential to affect employment in Maine than L.D. 1599, An Act to Clarify the Maine Human Rights Act.  Currently, the Act’s language is ambiguous regarding whether an employer’s supervisor may be held individually liable for acts of discrimination or harassment.  A recent decision of the Maine Law Court, however, strongly suggested that, if given the opportunity, the Court may soon interpret that language to impose individual supervisor liability.  Heeding this warning, L.D. 1599 was introduced.  In essence, this bill sought to amend the Act’s current language in order to guarantee that supervisors could not be held individually liable for acts of discrimination or harassment.  After a hard-fought battle both in Committee and on the floors of the House and Senate, L.D. 1599 was narrowly defeated. 

Among the other legislative proposals rejected during the most recent session were the following: L.D. 1420, which sought to require employers to extend employee benefits “to any individual with whom the employee co-habitates, regardless of the gender of the individual or the relationship between the employee and the individual”; L.D. 1086, which sought to limit the amount of mandatory overtime to 60 hours of overtime in any consecutive 2-week period; L.D. 380, which sought to restore an injured employee’s right to sue his/her employer for damages where the employer’s illegal or grossly negligent act caused the injury; and L.D. 96, which sought to extend to 9:00 p.m. the work shift of a minor during the school year. 

 
All in all, the 120th Legislature displayed a decidedly “pro-employee” bent.  Intense lobbying efforts by organized labor, as well as various trade associations, resulted in anti-business legislation and other similar enactments suffering only narrow defeats.  To be sure, many of the bills rejected during last session will be re-introduced in the near future.  Given the razor-thin margin by which these bills were defeated in 2001, whether they ultimately gain passage or again suffer defeat in the coming session will depend heavily on the lobbying efforts of those on both sides of the issue.