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Maine Legislature Fails to Pass Paid Sick Day Bill
Lawmakers to Maine Workers: "You're On Your Own"
The Maine Legislature has failed to take a stand for the health and well-being of Maine families. Both the House and Senate refused to adopt the Labor Committee’s recommendation to enact the paid sick days bill, L.D. 1454, "An Act to Care for Working Families."
On Monday, April 7, the House of Representatives voted 72 to 63 not to stand for the health and well-being of families, and on the following day, the Senate agreed.
Unfortunately, corporate lobbyists succeeded in convincing legislators that government should not set any workplace standards at all. The message from the legislature to workers was, “You’re on your own.”
Click Here to listen to some of the floor debate in the House of Representives.
Right now, nearly half of all full-time, private sector workers lack paid sick days. Three out of four low-wage workers are denied a single paid sick day, as are 86% of employees in some of Maine’s most important industries – food and public accommodation.
The Maine Women’s Lobby and the 35 members of the Maine Work and Family Coalition will continue to call for basic workplace policies that meet the needs of women and their families and allow workers—and workplaces—to thrive. We’re confident that Maine and the United States will ultimately be on the right side of history, joining the 153 nations around the world that provide paid sick leave, including every one of the top ten most economically competitive nations in the world.
A paid sick day standard has been enacted in San Francisco and the District of Columbia, and legislation is pending in 12 other states.
Women Make Gains in 123rd Legislature!
New Legislative Update Coming soon! Stay tuned...
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Legislative Successes
The Maine Women’s Lobby is proud to have played a lead role in the passage of a bill extending unemployment insurance for part-time workers. Seventy percent of part-time workers are women. “An Act to Ensure that Maine’s Unemployment System is Responsive to the Needs of Today’s Workforce” allows an individual who is otherwise eligible for unemployment to limit his or her job search to part-time work and continue to be eligible for unemployment compensation. Read more about our legislative achievements in Economic Self-Sufficiency and Family Security, Civil Rights and Ending Discrimination, Freedom from Violence, and Reproductive Rights and Health Care.
Feel free to contact us at info@mainewomen.org.
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