As commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor, I am dedicated to helping Gov. Mills build a strong economy where every worker can succeed and where every business can thrive. This Labor Day, I’m reflecting on the progress we have made and recommitting to the work we still must do to make that goal a reality.
Since Gov. Mills took office in 2018, the Maine Department of Labor has been working to protect the rights of workers. We enacted the most generous paid leave policy in the country. We stopped employers from paying workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage. We ensured that people who have been incarcerated have a fair chance to work after their release. We strengthened our equal pay law to protect workers’ right to discuss their pay with each other and to prohibit employers from taking salary history into account when negotiating the pay of new employees. And we recovered over $1.2 million in owed back wages from employers who illegally withheld them from their employees.
The Maine Department of Labor has also been working to support small businesses so they can find the talented staff they need to expand. We invested in apprenticeship programs to train the next generation of workers in high-demand industries. We organized job fairs, like the recent Hire-A-Vet Campaign, to connect hundreds of employers with skilled workers. We created the Maine Industry Partnerships for Workforce Development to help Maine businesses access the training they need to recruit and retain employees. And, we continue to hold events every month through our CareerCenters to connect employees to employers.
Gov. Mills has also invested more than $1 billion in federal funding through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, as approved by the Legislature, in job training and things Maine people need to take jobs and stay in the workforce – like affordable health care, accessible child care, reliable internet and safe housing. And, in the things Maine employers need to succeed – like health insurance premium relief, resources to cover high utility costs and capital to get off the ground and grow.
Those investments are already paying off, and it shows in the strength of our economy. This spring Maine recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic, our unemployment rate is at a near-record low of 2.8 percent, and we have more new business applications than ever before.
We’re making progress, but there is still more work to do to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed in our economy.
We know, for example, that nationally, women of all races are on average paid just 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. The wage gap is even starker for women of color. In 2020, African American women made 64 cents on the dollar, and Latinas just 57 cents on the dollar compared to white, non-Hispanic men. Gov. Mills signed a law in 2019 to promote pay equality, but just this year, a Maine district judge ruled that a hospital violated labor law when it paid a clinical psychologist nearly half as much as her male colleagues doing the same work. We will continue our efforts to ensure that every person in Maine is paid based on their experience, their abilities and their qualifications. That’s good public policy and frankly, just the right thing to do.
This Labor Day, as we reflect on the contributions of workers across the state of Maine and the union leaders, lawmakers and labor advocates who have advanced their rights throughout our history, the Mills Administration recommits to achieving a fairer economy for all. An economy where every person can find a good-paying job that provides for their family and where every small-business owner with a dream can find a talented worker to help make that dream a reality.
In solidarity with Maine’s working men and women, and in partnership with the employers who rely on their skills to succeed every day, I wish you a happy Labor Day 2022.
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