AUGUSTA - Rep. Amy Roeder, D-Bangor, introduced legislation Thursday to allow employees to request flexible work schedules without retaliation from their employers.
"While employers do not have to agree to a flexible work schedule request, they should not be allowed to discipline those who are just trying to balance work alongside their many responsibilities, including finding child care and caring for loved ones who are ill," said Roeder.
LD 827 would allow an employee of a public or private employer to request a flexible work schedule for up to six months at a time. Further, it would ensure that an employer cannot discipline an employee who requests a flexible work schedule and provides that the schedule continues in six-month increments unless the employer provides written notice stating otherwise.
"In the past few years, our collective lives have changed drastically," said Roeder. "It's time that we recognize our schedules have also changed drastically as a result."
The Legislature's Labor and Housing Committee will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
Roeder is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives and is House chair of the Labor and Housing Committee. She represents House District 23, which includes a portion of Bangor.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Roeder], 305-965-2744