you filed a workers’ compensation claim
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. “Can I be fired without a good reason?”
Yes. An employer can fire an employee without notice or cause as long as you are not discriminated against.
There may be a union agreement that says you can only be fired for certain reasons. In that case, the contract rule must be followed.
2. “What if my employer discriminated against me when I was fired?”
This is against the law if it is considered discrimination under human rights law. If you think there was discrimination, call the Maine Human Rights Commission (207-624-6050, TTY 207-624-6064).
3. “When does my employer have to pay my last wages after I get done?”
Your employer must pay your wages plus any vacation pay due by the next regular pay day after your job ends (not more than two (2) weeks). You must go in person and request your pay on or after the regular pay date. If your employer will not pay, you can file a complaint with the Maine Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (207-623-7900, TTY 1-800-794-1110).
4. “How do I know if I have a right to severance pay?”
You sometimes have a right to severance pay if the company has moved 100 miles or more away or has shut down, and the company employed over 100 people during the year.
Mediation
If a dispute occurs and legal action is needed, you can get free advice from a mediator who can help you find answers that both you and your employer can live with. Call the Maine Association of Dispute Resolution Professionals for more information (207-865-9588).
Overtime
Limits on Mandatory Overtime
An employer may not require an employee to work more than 80 hours of overtime in any consecutive two-week period. There are exceptions, such as emergency, essential services and salaried executive employees; agricultural workers and others.
A nurse who has worked 12 mandatory hours may not be disciplined for refusing to work additional hours and must be allowed at least 10 hours off following any such period. (There are exceptions to this law.)
Pension and Health Benefits
ERISA
Federal Law (ERISA at 29 U.S.C. § 1001) protects your benefit plans, including pension and health insurance. You can obtain a summary of your employer’s retirement plan. If you do not get it, the person in charge may have to pay you money and attorney’s fees for getting it.
For more information, call
U.S. Department of Labor,
Employee Benefits and Security Administration
(1-866-275-7922, TTY 1-877-889-5627).
COBRA
Federal law (COBRA at 29 U.S.C. § 1161(a)) also gives you the right to have your medical insurance continued for 18 months after your employment ends, at your expense.
For more information, call
U.S. Department of Labor,
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
(617-565-9600).
Preference for Maine Workers and Contractors
State law (26 M.R.S.A. § 1301-1315) gives preference to Maine workers and contractors on state-funded construction jobs over $10,000. It also sets a prevailing minimum wage rate for construction projects for these jobs.
Privacy
You can see your entire personnel file and make a copy at your expense. You can do this while you are employed or after you leave the workplace.
Ask, in writing, to see your file.
You must have access to your file during normal working hours within 10 days after your employer gets your written request.
Employers may not use lie detectors as a condition of employment.
Required Posters
Employers must display certain posters in the workplace where workers can see them.
“Business Answers” can send you the following posters free of charge. Call 1-800-872-3838 or 207-624-9804 (in-state), 1-800-541-5872 (out-of-state), TTY 207-287-2656.
Download Required State and Federal Labor Posters
Safety and Health
Everyone wants a safe and healthy place to work.
Employers must make workplaces safe.
Workers must follow health and safety rules.
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) looks out for health and safety in private workplaces.
The Maine Department of Labor checks public workplaces.
If you work on a computer four (4) or more hours a day, a law requires that you have special training to help you operate your equipment safely.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. “Can I say ‘No’ to a job I think is unsafe?”
If you think the job could cause death or serious injury, you can refuse. You must tell your employer of the danger and ask that it be fixed.
2. “What do I do if my employer does not fix the hazard?”
If your employer does not act to fix the problem, report your concern to OSHA (for private companies) or the Maine Department of Labor (for public work sites).
3. “What does Right to Know mean?”
You have a right to know if chemicals or other things that can cause harm are in the workplace.
Your employer must tell you about these things and train you in their safe use.
The Maine Department of Labor has free safety and health information and training through the SafetyWorks! program. (1-877-SAFE-345, 1-877-723-3345)
Smoking
All employers in Maine must have a written policy to protect the employer and the employee from secondhand tobacco smoke. Employers may ban smoking entirely. Inside buildings where people work, smoking can only be allowed in a designated smoking area that is enclosed and separately ventilated. It must keep smoke from going into the work area. Employers may not discriminate against employees who use tobacco outside the course of employment.
For more information, call:
Maine Department of Human Services
Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine
(207-287-6027, TTY 207-287-8015)
Unemployment Insurance
Unemployment benefits come from taxes paid by employers on wages of their workers. These taxes are put in a special trust fund that is used solely to pay unemployment benefits to workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The benefits are intended to be temporary to help people with basic needs while seeking new employment.
In many cases, unemployment benefits are available up to 26 weeks. The actual amount of benefits a person receives is based on wages earned during a specific time frame. People eligible for unemployment insurance must be:
- Partially or totally unemployed
- Able and willing to work
- Willing to accept work they are able to do
You can file a claim for unemployment insurance by calling the Unemployment Call Center at 1-800-593-7660, TTY 1-888-457-8884. You can get a claim form from the CareerCenter or at many Town Offices. You also may use a telephone, free of charge, at any CareerCenter to file a claim.
Have the following information ready when you apply:
1. Your social security number
2. The names, addresses, and tele- phone numbers of employers that you worked for during the last 18 months.
3. When you started work.
4. When you stopped work.
5. Reason you are not working now.
Wages
Beginning October 1, 2007, the minimum wage is $7.00 per hour.
- Maine does not have a training wage or student wage below the minimum.
- Tipped employees must be paid at least one-half minimum wage. If this rate plus tips for the week does not average the minimum wage, the employer must pay the difference.
- Employees get overtime pay of 1½ times their hourly rate after 40 hours of work per week. This applies to most employees. A poster stating these rules must be shown in the workplace.
- Executive, administrative or professional employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime. They must be paid a minimum weekly salary of $455.00. Federal laws may be different.
- Employers must pay wages to employees on an established day or date at regular intervals not to exceed 16 days.
- Employees must be paid for the work performed. Employees who leave a job must be paid in full within a reasonable time.
- Employers cannot deduct from an employee’s pay for things such as broken merchandise or bills not paid by customers.
- Employees of businesses that close can receive up to two (2) weeks pay through the Maine Wage Assurance Fund if the business does not have the money to pay the wages.
- Employers may not discriminate on the basis of gender by paying a rate less than the rate paid an employee of the opposite sex for comparable work.
- Most of the wage laws do not apply to agriculture.
- An employer who violates employment laws may have to pay penalties, additional wages and lawyers’ fees.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. “If a holiday occurs on a work day, does my employer have to pay overtime for working the holiday?”
No. An employer does not have to pay overtime for less than 40 hours a week worked.
2. “My employer changed my regular schedule and now says I have to work overtime. I wasn’t told this when I was hired. Is this legal?”
Yes. Employers have the right to change work schedules. They can require you to work overtime, but not in excess of 80 hours of actual overtime in any two-week period.
3. “Does my employer have to pay benefits like sick time, vacation or holidays?”
No. Paid benefits are extras. They are not required by law.
Whistleblowers Protection Act
It is against the law (26 M.R.S.A. §§ 831-840) for an employer to fire or threaten you because:
- you reported a law violation;
- you reported a risk to health and safety;
- you would not do something that was a danger to your life or to someone else’s;
- you are part of a government investigation; or
- you are a healthcare worker and you reported a medical error.
You are protected by this law ONLY if you tell your supervisor about what you think is wrong. You must allow enough time for your supervisor to correct the problem unless you have a good reason to think that he or she will not fix it.
A poster about this must be at your workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. “Can I be fired if I report a workplace problem or violation?”
It is against the law to fire someone for reporting a workplace problem or violation.
2. “If I lose my job for what looks like discrimination, what should I do?”
File a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission within six (6) months of the end of your employment.
For more information, call Maine Human Rights Commission (207-624-6050, TTY 207-624-6064).
Workers' Compensation
This is insurance paid for by the employer. It gives benefits to employees who get hurt on the job.
Most public and private employers have this insurance for their workers. You must follow the rules to get the benefits.
Check the poster which must be at the workplace for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. “If I get hurt at work, what should I do?”
Tell your supervisor or a manager as soon as you can.
2. “What should my employer do?”
Your employer must fill out a “first report” of the injury within seven (7) days. You should get a copy. If you lost a day at work, your employer will notify the Workers’ Compensation Board. If your employer does not do this, call a regional Workers’ Compensation Board office. Ask to speak to a Troubleshooter.
3. “What if my employer won’t pay my claim?”
If this happens, your employer will file a Notice of Controversy (NOC). This will say why the employer does not want to pay your claim.
If your employer files a NOC, a Troubleshooter will call you to hear your side. If you know about the NOC and a Troubleshooter has not called you within two (2) weeks, call a regional Workers’ Compensation Board office and ask to speak to a Troubleshooter.
Workers’ Compensation office telephone numbers:
Augusta 207-287-2308 or 1-800-400-6854, TTY 207-287-6119
Bangor 207-941-4550 or 1-800-400-6856
Caribou 207-498-6428 or 1-800-400-6855
Lewiston 207-753-7700 or 1-800-400-6857
Portland 207-822-0840 or 1-800-400-6858
Resources
State Government Agencies
Maine Department of Labor
45 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0045
207-623-7900
TTY 1-800-794-1110
www.maine.gov/labor/
e-mail: webmaster.bls@maine.gov
Maine Human Rights Commission
51 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0051
207-624-6050
TTY 207-624-6064
www.maine.gov/mhrc
Maine Department of Human Services
Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine
11 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0011
207-287-6027
TTY 207-287-8015
www.tobaccofreemaine.org
Maine Labor Relations Board
90 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0090
207-287-2015
TTY 207-287-4330
www.maine.gov/mlrb/homemlrb.htm
Maine Workers’ Compensation Board
24 Stone St., Augusta, ME 04330-5220
207-287-2308
TTY 207-287-6119
www.maine.gov/wcb/
Federal Government Agencies
National Labor Relations Board
Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr., Federal Building
10 Causeway Street, Rm 601, Boston, MA 02222-1072
617-565-6700
TTY 617-565-3204
www.nlrb.gov
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
JFK Federal Bldg., Room 475, Government Center Boston, MA 02203
1-800-669-4000 or 617-565-3200
www.eeoc.gov
U.S. Department of Labor
Wage and Hour Division
207-780-3344 and 207-945-0330
www.dol.gov
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
District Office 207-941-8177
Area Office
40 Western Avenue, Suite G26, Augusta, ME 04330
207-626-9160
www.osha.gov
Employee Benefits and Security Administration
617-565-9600
www.dol.gov/ebsa
