An Act To Assist Businesses To Retain Seasonal Employees and Reduce the Burden on the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1384
Committee: Labor
Sponsors: BISHOP, DOW
Amends: 26 MRSA §1193

Legislative Document 
No. 1384 
H.P.961 
House of Representatives, March 22, 2005 
An Act To Assist Businesses To Retain Seasonal Employees and 
Reduce the Burden on the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation 
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative BISHOP of Boothbay. 
Cosponsored by Senator DOW of Lincoln . 
Printed on recycled paper 
'17/~ /J?7Tb£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §1193, sub-§3, 1JB, as amended by PL 1983, c . 
650, §l, is further amended to read: 
B. 
Notwithstanding any other 
prov~s~ons of this chapter, 
work 
shall ~ not 
be 
seemed 
determined 
suitable 
and 
benefits shall ~ 
not be denied under this chapter to any 
otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new 
work under any of the following conditions: 
(1) 
If the position offered is vacant due directly to 
a strike, lockout or other labor dispute; 
(2) 
If the wages, hours or other conditions of work 
are substantially less favorable to the individual than 
those prevailing for similar work in the locality; 
(3) 
If, 
as 
a 
condition 
of 
being 
employed, 
the 
individual would be required to join a company union or 
to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide 
labor organization; 
(4) 
If the position offered is the same one previously 
vacated by the claimant for good cause attributable to 
that employment or is the position whieh ~ 
the 
employee 
left 
for 
reasons 
attributable 
to 
that 
employment, but whieh .t.b.a.t were found insufficient to 
relieve disqualification for benefits under subsection 
1, paragraph AT provided that, in either instance, the 
specific good cause or specific reasons for leaving 
have not been removed or otherwise changed; aRs 
(5) 
If the position offered is on a shift, the greater 
part of which falls between the hours of midnight to 5 
a.m., and is refused because of parental obligation, 
the need to care for an immediate family memberT or the 
unavailability of a personal care attendant required to 
assist the unemployed individual who is a handicapped 
person ... ~ 
(6) 
If an otherwise eligible person has been laid off 
due to the employer's lack of work and has a definite 
offer of recall to work with the Same employer within 8 
weeks of that layoff date. 
Page l-LRl087(1) 
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SUMMARY 
Current Department of Labor rules waive the work search 
requirement for unemployment benefits for a laid off employee if 
the employer gives the employee a recall notice guaranteeing that 
the employee will be rehired within 6 weeks, saving the employee 
and the Department of Labor, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation 
the burden of the employee's unnecessarily having to look for 
other work 
and report weekly on that search to 1:he bureau. 
Current 
law 
also 
bases 
the 
unemployment 
contribution 
for 
employers on the individual employer's past experilmce rating 
record. 
This bill allows an employer to layoff an employee for 
up to 8 weeks without the employee having to meet the job search 
requirement, 
better 
enabling 
a 
seasonal 
employer 
to 
retain 
trained employees while recapturing a portion of the cost of the 
benefits with a higher rate due to the employer's experience 
rating record.