Intimidation Allegations Spark Strong Rebuke
Labor Committee Chairs denounce LePage’s “appalling” behavior
AUGUSTA — New allegations that Governor Paul LePage intimidated hearing officers charged with impartially arbitrating unemployment insurance claims is sparking strong rebuke from lawmakers.
“This is appalling,” said Senator John Patrick, Senate Chair of the Labor Committee. “We owe unemployed workers a fair shot. We don’t need someone thinking he’s a dictator intimidating unbiased arbitrators of the law. It’s appalling this is happening in the U.S. You expect this sort of thing in Communist China, but not in Maine. This is not the way life should be.”
According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, LePage called the hearing officers to the Blaine House shortly before leaving for his Jamaican vacation. He pressured the impartial hearing officers to decide more unemployment hearings in favor of businesses, and to break federal law to give businesses an advantage.
“Maine workers and businesses involved in unemployment insurance hearings have a right to due process. There is no place for intimidation or political interference,” said Rep. Erin Herbig, House Chair of the Labor Committee, who has submitted LD 690, “An Act To Ensure Efficiency in the Unemployment Insurance System.”
Maine ranks 47th in the nation for processing unemployment insurance claims, with people who have lost jobs through no fault of their own waiting 7-8 weeks to get earned benefits.
Herbig said, “We face serious challenges with our unemployment insurance system. We shouldn’t be making it harder for Maine people who have their jobs through no fault of their own.Unemployment insurance is supposed to be there for you in tough times.”
In addition to the alleged intimidation at the Blaine House meeting, hearing officers had been told by their supervisors about a year and a half ago that they ruled in favor of employees too often, and to submit rulings in favor of the employee to their supervisors prior to issuing their formal rulings.
This practice was implemented after a company owner allegedly complained to the LePage administration. The practice was discontinued a few months later.
These latest incidents follow on the heels of public allegations by a Maine Centers of Disease Control director that she was harassed and assaulted for refusing to comply with an order to shred scoring results in order to prevent their outside distribution. The documents in question concern last summer’s distribution of money to the 27 Healthy Maine Partnership programs in the state.
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