All posts tagged "Labor"
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Pandemic unemployment fraud estimated to exceed $45 billion
The estimated amount of pandemic unemployment compensation paid out to fraudulent claims has...
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Maine unemployment ticked upward in August
Maine’s unemployment rate increased in August, rising to 3.1 percent from July’s rate...
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Maine’s labor force participation lags the rest of New England
While the number of jobs available in Maine has recovered to near pre-pandemic...
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Maine unemployment rate 2.8 percent in July
Maine’s unemployment rate was 2.8 percent in July, down from 3 percent in...
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COVID-19 gutted college attendance. Now, a solid labor market is convincing more high school grads to skip it
According to NBC News, there are 4 million fewer students enrolled in college than...
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Maine unemployment rate at 3 percent in June
According to the Maine Department of Labor (DOL), Maine’s employment rate decreased slightly...
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Halsey Frank: Labor data dissonance
I completed another plumbing project this past weekend. The toilet in our master...
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Maine unemployment rate hits 26-month low in May
Maine’s unemployment rate fell slightly in May, to 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent...
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Opinion: NECEC provides once-in-a-generation training opportunities for trades
There are a lot of benefits to the New England Clean Energy Connect...
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Maine’s unemployment situation ‘essentially unchanged’ in April
Following an upward revision to March’s jobs numbers, Maine’s unemployment rate was “essentially...
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Small business advocates worry about costs, confusion with Maine’s new paid vacation time policy
A law related to pay for vacation time at the end of employment...
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Maine’s employment outlook largely unchanged in February
Maine’s unemployment rate was 4 percent in February, a small change from January’s...
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Lawmakers debate new occupational regulations for residential construction contractors
The Maine Legislature’s Committee on Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business convened on...
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Lawmakers sustain Mills’ veto on bill allowing farm workers to unionize
Members of the Maine Legislature’s House of Representatives failed to override Gov. Janet...
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Maine unemployment rate shows modest improvement in December
Maine’s unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.7% in December 2021, according to a...
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Bill to allow public employee strikes shot down by labor committee
The Maine Legislature’s Committee on Labor and Housing voted not to move LD...
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U.S. DOE, DOT announce relaxed rules for bus drivers amid omicron surge, labor shortage
On January 10, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and U.S. Department of...
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With the new year comes another increase to Maine’s minimum wage
On January 1, Maine’s minimum wage increased to $12.75 per hour. The increase...
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No improvement to unemployment, labor force participation in November
For the month of November, Maine’s unemployment rate remained at 4.8%, a number...
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Shortage of adult workers makes teens employable again
My son recently underwent what was once a common rite of passage: his...
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Maine’s unemployment rate remained at 4.9% in October
Maine’s workforce conditions in October were little changed from September according to new...
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Federal court temporarily halts Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for employers
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on November 6 granted...
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Gov. Mills announces $14 million in aid to combat healthcare workforce shortages
Gov. Janet Mills held a press conference on October 25 to announce funding...
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Maine’s unemployment situation unchanged in September
Maine’s unemployment rate remained largely unchanged between August and September. The unemployment rate...
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Inflation drives Maine’s minimum wage to $12.75 in 2022
The Maine Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the state’s minimum wage will...
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Maine’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% in August
According to the Maine Department of Labor’s (DOL) Center for Workforce Research and...
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Mills administration throwing money at hospitals, nursing homes in attempt to overcome workforce shortages
Gov. Janet Mills’ administration recently announced it is awarding Maine hospitals and long-term...
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Number of unemployed Mainers increases slightly in July
Despite some improvements to Maine’s economy, the leisure and hospitality industries remain among...
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Only 400 Mainers have cashed in on Gov. Mills’ Back to Work program
The Maine Department of Labor (DOL) announced on August 11 it is extending...
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7,400 Mainers fail to provide proof of employment to continue receiving unemployment
On August 6, the Maine Department of Labor (DOL) announced that approximately 7,400...
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Gov. Mills’ ‘Back to Work’ program comes to a close
The Maine Department of Labor’s (DOL) Back-to-Work grant program will close applications on...
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Mills vetoes another bill sponsored by Senate President Jackson
On July 12, Gov. Janet Mills vetoed LD 1711, which would have allowed...
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People are leaving unemployment rolls faster in states that are ending enhanced benefits
A new report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quotes an analysis from...
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Maine launches ‘Back to Work’ program while leaving federal pandemic unemployment benefits in place
On June 14, Gov. Mills announced a program to incentivize unemployed Mainers to...
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Bill to end at-will employment dies between chambers
To force these new labor restrictions upon employers now would be a grave...
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When Joe Biden talks about worker choice, he means only one choice
President Joe Biden believes joining a union isn’t merely a right that workers...
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The high cost of trying to use the minimum wage as welfare
In recent years, a number of economic studies have concluded that small to...
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Which New England state will be first to enact Right to Work?
New Hampshire has a lot going for it compared to the rest of...
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Local Kroger stores close as California ‘Hero Pay’ ordinance backfires
A new “Hero Pay” mandate in Long Beach, California has inadvertently cost some...
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New research debunks claim that a $15 minimum wage would not reduce employment
President Joe Biden is pushing a federal $15 minimum wage in his sweeping...
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Portland’s ‘Green New Deal’ initiative complicates ongoing school renovations
School officials and building committees involved in Portland’s elementary school renovations are seeking...
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Portland’s delay on minimum wage ordinance provides no legal cover to local businesses
Portland residents approved on November 3 an ordinance that increases the city’s minimum...
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Portland businesses worried about city’s new minimum wage ordinance
Portland voters approved Question A on their local ballots last week, an initiative...
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Unions lost a major battle in their war on the gig economy
Should Americans be allowed to freelance? Progressive Democrats have been pushing legislation at...
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Pro-union state senator opposed her brewery employees’ unionization efforts
Rising Tide Brewing, a popular brewery located in Portland, faces a national labor...
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A misguided strike at Bath Iron Works
I have been deeply disappointed to see the strike going on at Bath...
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SEIU pledges $150 million to defeat President Trump in 2020
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision in June of 2018,...
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Briefs filed in Maine workplace freedom case
Twenty-two public policy organizations filed amicus briefs last week urging the U.S. Supreme...
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Maine professor suing faculty union appeals his case to the Supreme Court
Jonathan Reisman, an associate professor of economics and public policy at the University...
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Minimum wage and overtime changes come with unintended consequences
On January 1, the state’s minimum wage and overtime exemption thresholds increased by...
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Leg Council rejects crucial workforce development bill, denies public employees their First Amendment rights
The majority members of Maine’s Legislative Council voted Friday to kill along party...
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New California law threatens workers in the ‘gig economy,’ and it’s spreading to other states
A new law that changes how workers are classified in the “gig economy”...
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Public workers are working hard to protect their rights after the Janus decision
In 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that requiring public-sector workers to...
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Alaska state employees union wants the courts to suppress its members’ First Amendment rights
This summer, Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson released a formal opinion that said...
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MECEP praise for labor unions misses the mark
This week, in honor of Labor Day, the Maine Center for Economic Policy’s...
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The minimum wage myth that persists
Advocates of a higher minimum wage rarely appeal to scholarly research to bolster...
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Proposed overtime rules will result in lost wages and benefits
The Maine Legislature next session will consider another bill that would be harmful...
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CBO report shows $15 federal minimum wage would hurt US economy
A $15 federal minimum wage would wipe out 1.3 million low-income jobs and...
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Maine should follow Kentucky’s lead on right to work, labor reforms
Last week, Governor Matt Bevin gave the keynote address at The Maine Heritage...
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Government workers remain in the dark one year after Janus decision
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Janus...
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Proposed workers’ comp changes the wrong step for Maine
In the early ‘90s, times were very different than they are today. Maine’s...
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CMS finalizes rule to end dues skimming of in-home caregivers
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule...
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What’s next for workplace freedom?
Three employees of Kent State University on Monday, April 29 filed suit against...
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LD 1451: Mandatory disclosures of private information as a condition of employment
Are you a public employee? Public sector labor unions in Maine want access...
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Fair Workweek bill fails miserably in committee
This morning, lawmakers on the Labor and Housing Committee held a public hearing...
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‘Fair Workweek’ bill is anything but fair to workers who will suffer from its enactment
Lawmakers on Maine’s Labor and Housing Committee today will hold a public hearing...
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Maine’s higher minimum wage is doing tangible harm to young workers
Lawmakers in Augusta have proposed a spate of bills this session in an...
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It shouldn’t be so hard to earn a living in Maine
Occupational licensing exists as a mechanism for government to promote public health and...
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Minimum wage law hurting small business and Maine’s most vulnerable
They say elections have consequences, and in the case of the minimum wage...
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It didn’t take long for tax increases to be proposed in Augusta
It was only a matter of time, right? In a piece that read...
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Maine progressives continue to offer misleading information about the minimum wage
In an article published Thursday on the Maine Beacon – the online opinion...
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Maine law forces me to accept union misrepresentation
This piece was first published in the Portland Press Herald. I am an...
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Question 1 is a shell game
Question 1 plays on voters’ emotions to pass policies that will hurt the...
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Don’t expect higher minimum wages to reduce poverty
The standard objection to increasing the minimum wage is that it will result...
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Let’s keep our economy on the right path by attracting more workers
The Maine Department of Labor recently released its projections for job growth for...
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Licensing reform can help attract talent to Maine
Policymakers are always asking: ‘What can we do to attract young, talented people...
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DPFR serves as the Legislature’s collective slush fund
Occupational licensing is supposed to protect the public from unqualified professionals whose goods...
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Why do lawmakers choose licensing?
Despite economists on both sides of the aisle agreeing that occupational licensing laws...
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Maine licensing regimes separate qualified professionals from meaningful employment
Kimberly Fichthorn exemplifies what Maine is looking for. A 47-year-old transplant from Texas,...
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Forget the minimum wage – licensing reform will help lift Mainers out of poverty
Despite its relatively minimal impact on Maine workers, the labor issue presently garnering...
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Minimum wage propaganda drives higher prices and taxes
Maine’s progressives have been selling the benefits of the minimum wage increase using...
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MECEP’s shoddy defense of the minimum wage ignores basic research methods
Earlier this year, the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a left-wing think tank,...
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Let’s ensure Maine’s minimum wage law does no harm
We need to make sure that employees in Maine do not see the...
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Maine businesses struggle under minimum wage law
Advocates claim that by raising the minimum wage, hard-working Mainers working in these...
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Maine’s minimum-wage law needs adjustment
This article was originally published in the Sun Journal. Nearly two years ago...
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Boxers, dietitians and interior designers; Maine’s licensing regimes go too far
Occupational licensing is intended to safeguard the public from unqualified, incompetent charlatans whose...
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Maine is in desperate need of occupational licensing reform
Every American citizen should have the right to earn a living and the...
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Debunking the Myths on Right-to-Work
In the discussion surrounding right-to-work legislation, there is a tendency for both opponents...
