The recently concluded First Regular Session of the 119th Maine Legislature resulted in a number of statutory changes relating to employment law. Unless "emergency" in nature, these laws take effect on September 18, 1999. The following are three of the more significant changes adopted:
Current law requires most employers to pay their employees on a weekly basis for the wages earned by the employee within eight days of the date of that payment.
The Legislature has now expanded the payment options for employers. It repealed the weekly pay requirement and replaced it with a requirement that employers pay all wages earned by an employee "at regular intervals not to exceed sixteen days." Each payment must include all wages earned within eight days of the payment date. The wage must be paid on an established day or date at regular intervals made known to the employee and the interval may not be changed without providing at least thirty days advance written notice to the employee.
This legislation, proposed by the Department of Labor, makes several important changes:
- it changes the types of "misconduct" for which a person becomes ineligible to receive unemployment compensation benefits.
- it changes the provisions relating to overpayment of benefits to allow a greater deduction from future benefits when the claimant refuses to repay; and also provides for a penalty against benefits obtained through false statements or failure to disclose information if the false statement or failure is knowingly made.
- it raises the taxable wage base from $7,000 to $12,000 effective January 1, 2000.
- it establishes an array system for determining individual employer contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Fund ("Fund"). The Director of Unemployment Compensation is also granted additional authority to collect money owed to the Fund by employers.
- it changes the base for unemployment compensation benefits: after January 1, 2000 an individual's benefits will be the average of the wages from the two highest quarters of the base period rather than only the one highest quarter.
This new law requires that employers grant leave with or without pay to an employee who is a victim of violent crime or abuse to enable the employee to participate in legal proceedings, obtain medical treatment and tend to other crises created by the violence or abuse.
The employer may refuse to grant leave if the employer would sustain undue hardship as a result of the leave, the request for leave was not communicated to the employer in a timely manner, or the leave is impractical, unreasonable or unnecessary.
The law also prohibits an employer from sanctioning an employee or depriving an employee of pay or benefits for exercising any right granted by this new provision.
You can track activity by the Maine State Legislature through its website at: http://www.state.me.us/legis/homepage.htm