Maine’s new Director of Labor Standards wants to change the state’s Bureau of Labor Standards (BLS) into an enforcement agency, allow it to investigate employers for potential violations based on no prior evidence, and empower it to impose penalties without court intervention.
“We want to go towards proactive investigations, where we can proactively go to the employers that we suspect,” said BLS Director Jason Moyer-Lee “We can catch those violations as well, even if a worker does not complain.”
Moyer-Lee spoke before Maine’s Committee on Labor and Housing in early February, testifying in favor of LD 2184 and LD 372, which would allow the BLS to be far more aggressive.
Under current law, the BLS works to aid employees who complain that their employers have failed to pay wages.
Maine workers have a private right of action, allowing employees to bring civil suits against employers for wage violations, which would require the employer to pay at least two times the missed wages and pay for attorney’s fees if the employee wins the suit.
In many cases, however, workers are unable to afford to hire an attorney, and turn to the BLS with their complaints.
LD 2184 would allow the BLS to investigate employers in attempts to dredge up violations, regardless of whether any employees of the company had complained.
The BLS could investigate employers if workers had complained in the past.
If the business is part of an industry considered by Moyer-Lee likely to commit violations, it could come under investigation without any evidence of wrongdoing.
Under current law, the BLS has the authority to issue fines, but must go to court to prove its allegations before it can force an employer to issue back pay, but the new bill would make the BLS the unilateral arbiter of wage violations.
LD 372 would allow the BLS to force employers to issue back pay without the intervention of a court.
As BLS director, Moyer-Lee would be empowered to decide, based on mere suspicion, which businesses are investigated, and which are forced to pay fines and back wages.
“He just really seemed gleeful that he was going to be empowered to go after people now,” said Sen. Matthew Pouliot (R-Kennebec), during a Labor and Housing Committee work session.
“It is concerning that we may pass legislation which would really empower individuals to kind of act like the Gestapo and go after people,” Pouliot said.
Moyer-Lee, who would receive the new authority, has displayed strong left-wing political bias through his X account, reposting tweets from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), and far left speaker Ibram X. Kendi.
Moyer-Lee has also used X to express a belief that prison labor is the same as the enslavement of black Americans prior to the civil war, and that the U.S. is incarcerating black Americans at a high rate not because of their crimes, but because it wants to continue to enslave black people.
“The 13th amendment to the US constitution, purporting to end slavery, had a loophole to allow forced labour of prisoners, incentivising the mass criminalisation of African Americans to serve the economic interest of White business,” said Moyer Lee on X.
If the bills are passed, Moyer-Lee, who has expressed his disdain for “white businesses” will be empowered to investigate any businesses of his choosing, and force those businesses to issue payments without allowing them the opportunity to plead their cases in a court of law.
I appreciate this kind of reporting. No one else is reporting on these kinds of things. Good job Maine Wire.
Look out thought criminals, here comes Maine’s melanin challenged squad member!
How very Stalinist of them.
To paraphrase, show them the business and they’ll show you the crimes, racism, biases, etc.
Another Leftist hack with a hyphenated last name is now calling the shots for struggling businesses. Maine has gone from “The Way Life Should Be” to “The People’s Republic of Maine”.
Jason Moyer-Lee, the hyphenated savior of people of color. He should be revered as their god. What a pathetic joke.
So in essence the Dems want to weaponize another government office, to go after any business they disapprove of, Quite typical.
To quote Biden, “My God, what other freedoms are they going to take away?”
Getting closer & closer to moving me and mine outta this state , to a place more tax and business friendly.
I heard that brother. Just waiting to retire so me and my quite sizeable 401K can leave this god forsaken state.
This is dangerous!
This is government out of control.
It is abundantly clear that Moyer-Lee does not have the character suitable for vesting these considerable powers of state with. There needs to be very careful scrutiny and supervision over him or this will end badly and it is the workers who will suffer, not Moyer-Lee.