Maine Senate passes Sen. Claxton bill to protect rights of public employees

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, the Maine Senate passed a bill from Sen. Ned Claxton, D-Auburn. LD 824, “An Act To Extend the Protections Provided to State Employees upon the Expiration of Labor Contracts to Other Public Sector Employees,” received a vote of 21-13. 

“This bill would ensure that in the rare case of a public employee encountering a gap between contracts, they would not have to worry about whether their previously negotiated pay increases will be honored,” said Sen. Claxton. “I thank my Senate colleagues for helping guarantee that our dedicated public servants don’t lose out on their hard-earned benefits if a contract lapses.” 

LD 824 would require that when a municipal, judicial or public higher education employee’s contract expires and before a new contract is agreed to, they must remain eligible for merit increases that were included under the previous contract. In 2019, the Legislature passed LD 1546, “An Act To Protect State Employees When Their Contracts Have Expired,” which guaranteed these rights for state employees. LD 824 builds off that law by extending those same protections to other public employees. 

LD 824 faces further votes in the Legislature.