Lawmaker seeks to protect workers who take paid time off from retaliation

James Myall, a policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), told Beacon in a recent interview that workers’ fear of using leave was well-documented at the time the 2019 bill was being considered. That’s why it was so disappointing when protections were taken out of the original bill, he said.

A 2019 MECEP survey was shared with lawmakers and MDOL officials that found that one-third of Mainers who had paid time off declined to take time off explicitly because they feared retaliation.

Click here to read the full story, first published January 31, 2022 in Beacon.