Senate enacts bill from Sen. Vitelli and Speaker Fecteau to improve Maine’s unemployment insurance program

Posted: July 02, 2021 | Senator Vitelli

AUGUSTA – On Thursday, the Senate voted to enact and fund a bill from Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, and Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford. An amended version of LD 1564, “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Unemployment Compensation,” will update and improve Maine’s unemployment insurance system

“This bill isn’t the end of our journey to improve the unemployment system, but it is an important step forward,” said Sen. Vitelli. “This bill will help fix some of the issues that became so apparent to us in the early months of the pandemic, and it will set us on a path to make further important changes with the input of workers and the business community. I’m grateful to my colleagues for their support in making sure that Mainers have the support they need when they need it, and the help to get back to work as soon as possible.”

The bill would make a slew of changes to the unemployment insurance (UI) system to increase efficiency, modernize systems, keep people connected to the workforce and support working families.

“Across the country, the pandemic brought uncertainty and unplanned layoffs. Many states, including Maine, struggled with insufficient unemployment systems. We knew Maine’s system needed to be improved to meet the needs of a 21st Century workforce. That’s exactly what this bill will do,” said Speaker Fecteau. “This bill addresses the most significant flaws in the system. This will be a major improvement so laid off workers and their employers will have support navigating the unemployment system, so they can access the benefits they need to survive. This bill is about recognizing where the government can make improvements for the sake of Maine families.”

The bill’s provisions include:

  • An increase in the amount of wages a person can earn working part-time while still receiving partial UI, to encourage UI recipients to work on a temporary or part-time basis while searching for more permanent employment.
  • The creation of a two-year pilot project for a peer workforce navigator program, so community-based navigators outside of the Department of Labor can step in to assist at times when support for unemployment workers must be scaled up.
  • The creation of a working group to provide the business community and other stakeholders the opportunity to shape other parts of the program that need improvement, and to provide input on a business community liaison program that would mirror the workforce navigator program.
  • An increase in the dependency allowance, a weekly amount added to claimant’s benefits based on the number of children they care for.
  • Allowing workers who had to voluntarily leave a job due to loss of transportation, child care or elder care to claim UI once they are able and available to work again. Caretaking responsibilities fall disproportionately to women, and mass loss of child care during the pandemic resulted in women, especially women of color, leaving the workforce at higher rates than men.
  • Allowing individuals to participate remotely in fact-finding interviews and appeals hearings, to align with current practice.
  • Streamlining rulemaking by transferring this authority to the Commissioner of the Department of Labor; this power currently resides with the Unemployment Insurance Commission.
  • Allowing the Commissioner of Labor or a designee to grant waivers for overpayments, aligning the process with other states and other elements of the unemployment decision making process.

The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to sign the bill into law, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature.