Gov. Mills signs LD 767 into law. From left are: Sen. Anne Carney, MDOL Bureau of Labor Standards Director Michael Roland, Gov. Janet Mills and MDOL Legislative Liaison Dillon Murray. Courtesy photo

AUGUSTA — Gov. Janet Mills has signed a bill from Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, into law. LD 767, “An Act to Provide Uniform Protections from Retaliation for Maine Workers in Connection with the Exercise of Rights Protected Under the Laws Governing Employment Practices,” will give the Maine Department of Labor and the Maine Attorney General the ability to protect an employee when an employer retaliates against the worker for asserting their rights under Maine’s labor laws, according to the Senate Majority Office. As amended, the bill will ensure that workers are not limited or restricted in their rights to seek other available remedies in a separate legal action.

“Protections against retaliation serve an important role in our legal system,” said Sen. Carney. “While the Department of Labor and the Attorney General can already enforce workers’ rights, they don’t have a way to protect workers from retaliation when they assert their rights. This bill will empower the Department and the Attorney General to bring a claim against an employer that retaliates against a worker for asserting their rights. I want to thank Governor Mills for signing this important bill and strengthening worker protections in Maine.”

The retaliation provision will extend to any right listed in Title 26, Chapter 7, Employment Practices. These rights include earned paid leave, limits on mandatory overtime, protections for nursing mothers, equal pay, family sick leave and veterans’ leave. If an employer is proven to have retaliated against a worker, the Department of Labor and the Attorney General could fine the employer $500 to $1,000 for each violation.

“Retaliation and the fear of being retaliated against happens to working people in a range of industries. We cannot expect workers to demand these basic rights at work if that means getting stuck with a bad shift or losing hours, leading to lost pay and all of the stress associated with missed payments, lower credit scores, eviction or loss of transportation,” said Adam Goode with the Maine AFL-CIO while providing testimony in support of the bill during the public hearing. “This legislation prohibits an employer from discriminating or retaliating against a worker who exercises their workplace rights.”