Summer Employer Update: Hire-A-Vet, Overtime, Marijuana, Tip Credit

Maine Department of Labor sent this bulletin at 08/09/2017 12:20 PM EDT
Maine Department of Labor, call 207-623-7900 or visit www.maine.gov/labor
Employer Update. We want Maine's economy to grow by helping you succeed. Image of job seekers speaking with employers at a job fair.

Meet Commissioner of Labor John Butera

Dear Maine Job Creators:

Maine, and especially the Department of Labor, is committed to creating an environment in which you succeed.  From workforce development to workplace regulations, our goal is to make it easier for people to get the job done efficiently, safely, fairly, and in the highest quality way possible.

Our team at the Department of Labor is here to assist you in making that happen. Whether we are helping our workforce gain the right skills to meet the needs of current and future employers, ensuring that employers have a level playing field and comply with the law, or helping people laid off through no fault of their own get back to work, we are here to serve the people and employers of Maine.

 Labor Commissioner John Butera

The LePage Administration is committed to making our state competitive, growing our economy, ensuring that businesses thrive, and making the people of Maine prosperous.

Sincerely,
John Butera
Commissioner

Listen: The Breakfast Club Podcast, Maine's Big Z

Listen: - Marijuana, Tip Credit, Teen Jobs
Julie Rabinowitz and Commissioner John Butera, MDOL

USDOL Seeks Comment on Overtime Rule

USDOL has issued a Request for Information; Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees . The 60-day public input period ends Sept. 25, 2017. In the Supplemental Background section III, USDOL poses specific questions for which they seek the public’s comment. 

Work Experiences help Youth with Disabilities and Employers

Jaysun with BRS Logo

Several Maine employers are providing work experiences to youth with disabilities this summer.  Here, Jaysun is helping a restaurant in Rumford.

To learn how you can host students and recruit these workers, contact Christine Robinson with the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services at Christine.C.Robinson@maine.gov. 

100 Days I 100+ Employers I 100+ Veterans Hired

Maine Hire A vet Campaign 2017

Join the campaign to hire more veterans in Maine! It’s the right thing to do and it’s good business. The campaign pledges to work with you to find the appropriate fit for your job vacancies.

Support for Maine Employers to Include:

  • Network of veterans support service agencies working for you.
  • Advanced Military Culture 201 training.
  • Assistance with recruiting, hiring and retention of veterans and military families.
  • No-cost job postings on Maine JobLink and LiveandWorkinMaine.com

Contact: Steven Roy, Campaign Coordinator, tel: 207-624-5156, TTY users call Maine Relay 711, email: MaineHireAVet.DOL@maine.gov

Video: How do I register as an employer and pay unemployment taxes?

How do I register as an employer and pay unemployment taxes?

Caption: How do I Register as an Employer and Pay Unemployment Taxes?
Returns are due within 30 days after the end of any quarter.

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Marijuana in the Workplace

The Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee heard presentations from the Maine Workers’ Compensation Board and Maine Department of Labor about marijuana in the workplace.  Materials from those presentations will be made available here .

Title 7 MRS, Chapter 417, §2454 states: “3. School, employer or landlord may not discriminate. A school, employer or landlord may not refuse to enroll or employ or lease to or otherwise penalize a person 21 years of age or older solely for that person's consuming marijuana outside of the school's, employer's or landlord's property.” 

When the Legislature delayed most of the Marijuana Legalization Act from taking effect until February 2018, that delay included §2454’s employment-related provisions. Right now, as an at-will state, a Maine employer or employee can end the employment relationship for any reason, and an employer may choose not to hire an applicant with a marijuana-positive drug test without a certification for medical use.

If §2454 does not change and does go into effect, at that time, the department recommends employers not conduct applicant drug screening for marijuana because doing so could violate §2454. 

No-Cost Impairment Detection Training

SafetyWorks' "Impairment Detection Training for Employers" is designed to help owners, managers and supervisors recognize and respond appropriately to employee impairment in the workplace in order to reduce worker accidents and injuries. Participants will be taught procedures to detect impairment regardless of the substance used or physical conditions such as illness, fatigue etc. that might be the cause.

This class is designed to fulfill the federal DOT requirements for reasonable suspicion training of supervisors. In addition, participants will learn how to develop and implement policies that address impairment in the workplace and are in compliance with Maine’s Substance Abuse Testing Law.

SafetyWorks Logo

Impairment Detection Training for Employers

August 23, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Greater Portland CareerCenter, 151 Jetport Blvd., Portland

October 25, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
SafetyWorks! Training Institute
Maine Department of Labor, 45 Commerce Dr., Augusta

REGISTER HERE

MDOL Recruiting and Training

Fall Job Fairs and Recruiting

Find Job Fairs

Our CareerCenters are hosting and participating in recruiting events and job fairs.  Contact your closest CareerCenter to participate and get assistance with recruiting.

Need Help Training New Hires or Current Workers?  Let us know through the Maine-at-work Initiative!

Nominations for Senior-Friendly Employer Awards due September 1

The Silver Collar Employer Award honors employers whose policies and practices match the needs of mature employees, capturing their skills and experience, strong work ethic, flexibility and enthusiasm. Deadline for entry is Friday, September 1, 2017. Employers may self-nominate.

Click here for more information and to download the application.

Questions: State Workforce Board, swb.dol@maine.gov or  207-621-5091 / TTY Maine Relay 711.

ReEmployME, Maine’s new unemployment benefit system, coming this fall

Maine’s  new unemployment benefit system, coming this fall!

Maine Labor Law Changes in Effect Now

The following labor law changes took effect immediately upon becoming law; additional changes will become effective this fall, stay tuned for details.

Minors: 14 and 15 year olds may now work in bowling alleys, movie theaters and permanent amusement parks, and in expanded occupations in bakeries and hotels.

Unemployment: Employers may now appeal cases involving audit findings, for example, worker misclassification or tax cases, directly to the Division of Administrative Hearings and then may appeal again to the Unemployment Insurance Commission before being appealing to the courts. 

Tip Credit Update

The Department has updated its website to depict the implementation of the restoration of Maine’s tip credit.

The “new” requirements that were passed as part of that law reflect the requirements as currently enforced by the Maine Department of Labor. Employers who are already in compliance should see no change in the way they pay tipped employees using the tip credit. These requirements are:

1. Cannot take credit card fees out of the tip when the customer pays the tip with a credit card (already a law but not as explicit to tips, see 26 MRS §629(4)).

2. Must inform new hires that they will be paid using a tip credit. Maine law now reflects federal law:

“An employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the affected employee in advance, either orally or in writing, of the following information:

  • A. The amount of the direct wage to be paid by the employer to the tipped employee;
  • B. The amount of tips to be credited as wages toward the minimum wage;
  • C. That the amount of tips to be credited as wages may not exceed the value of the tips actually received by the employee;
  • D. That all tips received by the affected employee must be retained by the employee, except for a valid tip pooling arrangement limited to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips in accordance with subsection 2-A;
  • E.That the tip credit may not apply to any employee who has not been informed by the employer of the provisions for a tip credit; and
  • F. If the employer uses a tip pooling arrangement, then any required tip pool contribution amount from the employee.”

3. When using the tip credit, the employer must be able to show that the employee receives at least the minimum hourly wage when direct wages and the tip credit are combined within the established 7-day workweek.  The 7-day workweek is the workweek established by the employer and is the same work-week used to establish overtime.