Elizabeth Wyman Named Chief Hearing Officer at Maine Department of Labor

January 24, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 24, 2014
Contact: Julie Rabinowitz, 207-621-5009

AUGUSTA?The Maine Department of Labor is pleased to announce the hiring of Elizabeth Wyman as the chief hearing officer and director of the Division of Administrative Hearings in the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation. She is replacing Linda Rogers-Tomer, who retired from the department in December.

Wyman has worked in the Maine Office of the Attorney General since 1998. For the last several years in the AG?s office she has represented the Maine Department of Labor and other state agencies in bankruptcy and collection matters. She has also advised the department on legal matters relating to both unemployment tax and unemployment benefits, and she has represented the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission in court appeals.

Wyman graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 1993, magna cum laude, and served a clerkship with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Prior to her state service, Wyman was in private practice as a civil litigator, with a specialty in appellate practice. Her publications include, ?The Unenforced Promise of Equal Pay Acts: A National Problem and Possible Solution from Maine? (Maine Law Rev. Vol. 55, Book 1 [2003]) and ?Applying the ABC Test To Determine Liability for Unemployment Compensation? (Maine Bar Journal [2004]).

In her new position as chief hearing officer, Wyman will lead the unit of the department that is responsible for hearing unemployment appeal cases. She will also work with the Unemployment Insurance Commission and the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation to help improve workflow and communication between the different levels of decision-making in the unemployment claims process.

?We are looking forward to Liz joining the department,? said Commissioner of Labor Jeanne Paquette. ?Due to her strong working relationship with the department during her tenure with the Office of the Attorney General, she understands not only the role of the division but also the perspectives of both employees and employers in labor issues generally and unemployment specifically.?

Paquette added, ?Liz has worked with both the Unemployment Insurance Commission and the staff of the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation for a number of years. Her knowledge of both agencies will help the department implement the recommendations of The Blue Ribbon Commission on the Unemployment System to improve our services to claimants and employers.?

Wyman expressed her enthusiasm to become part of the team at the Department of Labor. ?I?m excited to join the Division of Administrative Hearings and the Department of Labor team. I am eager to make a positive contribution and consider myself privileged to be a part of the bureau. Being out of work is stressful for people, and we need to balance compassion with appropriate due process for everyone the system serves,? she said.

Wyman will start her new position on January 27. The Department of Labor administers Maine?s unemployment insurance system, helps ensure the safety of employees and provides workforce development leadership and vocational rehabilitation services throughout the state. The department focuses on connecting Mainers to jobs and helping businesses create jobs through strengthening our workforce development system, improving outreach to businesses and clarifying employment regulations.

-end-

Supporting documents

Elizabeth Wyman, the new chief hearing officer of the Maine Department of Labor