An Act to Require a Person Receiving Unemployment Benefits to Attend Scheduled Interviews to Fulfill the Work Search Requirement
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0245
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: GUERIN, BRAKEY, HARRINGTON, KEIM, LYFORD, MOORE, STEWART
Amends: 26 MRSA §1082, 26 MRSA §1193

Legislative Document
No. 245
S.P. 111
In Senate, January 20, 2023
An Act to Require a Person Receiving Unemployment Benefits to 
Attend Scheduled Interviews to Fulfill the Work Search 
Requirement
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator GUERIN of Penobscot.
Cosponsored by Senators: BRAKEY of Androscoggin, HARRINGTON of York, KEIM of 
Oxford, LYFORD of Penobscot, MOORE of Washington, STEWART of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §1082, sub-§15 is enacted to read:
15.  Bureau to establish online portal.  The bureau shall establish an online portal for 
employers to report individuals who refuse to comply with the requirement under section 
1193, subsection 3 that an individual appear for an employment interview scheduled with 
an employer for a suitable job opportunity.
Sec. 2.  26 MRSA §1193, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c. 348, §40, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Refused to accept work.  For the duration of the individual's unemployment 
subsequent to the individual's having refused to accept an offer of suitable work for which 
the individual is reasonably fitted, having refused to appear for an employment interview 
scheduled with an employer for a suitable job opportunity or having refused to accept a 
referral to a suitable job opportunity when directed to do so by a local employment office 
of this State or another state or if an employer is unable to contact a former employee at 
last known or given address, for the purpose of recall to suitable employment; or the 
individual fails to respond to a request to report to the local office for the purpose of a 
referral to a suitable job, and the disqualification continues until claimant has earned 10 
times the claimant's weekly benefit amount in employment by an employer. If the deputy 
determines that refusal has occurred for cause of necessitous and compelling nature, the 
individual is ineligible while such inability or unavailability continues, but is eligible to 
receive prorated benefits for that portion of the week during which the individual was able 
and available.
A.  In determining whether or not any work is suitable for an individual during the first 
consecutive weeks of unemployment, the deputy shall consider the degree of risk 
involved to the individual's health, safety and morals, the individual's physical fitness 
and prior training, the individual's experience and prior earnings, the individual's length 
of unemployment and prospects for securing local work in the individual's customary 
occupation and the distance of the available work from the individual's residence.
In determining whether or not work is suitable for an individual after the first 10 
consecutive weeks of unemployment, the deputy shall consider the degree of risk 
involved to the individual's health, safety and morals, the individual's physical fitness, 
the individual's prior earnings, the individual's length of unemployment and prospects 
for securing local work in the individual's customary occupation and the distance of 
the available work from the individual's residence. The individual's prior earnings may 
not be considered with respect to an offer of or referral to an otherwise suitable job that 
pays wages equal to or exceeding the average weekly wage in the State.
B.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, work may not be considered 
suitable and benefits may 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 that the employee left 
for reasons attributable to that employment, but which were found insufficient to 
relieve disqualification for benefits under subsection 1, paragraph A, as long as, in 
either instance, the specific good cause or specific reasons for leaving have not 
been removed or otherwise changed; and
(5)  If the position offered is on a shift, the greater part of which falls between the 
hours of midnight and 5 a.m., and is refused because of parental obligation, the 
need to care for an immediate family member or the unavailability of a personal 
care attendant required to assist the unemployed individual who is a person with a 
disability;
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Employment Security Law to provide that an individual who 
refuses to appear for an employment interview scheduled with an employer for a suitable 
job opportunity is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. The bill also 
requires the Department of Labor, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation to establish an 
online portal for employers to report individuals who refuse to appear for scheduled 
employment interviews.