Jobs and Income Legislators sustain Mills’ vetoes of progressive labor and criminal justice reform bills “Frankly, it’s an indefensible decision,” James Myall of the Maine Center for Economic Policy wrote on Twitter. “Fear of retaliation by employers is real, and by blocking this effort […] Beacon Posted May 9, 2022 Tags Economic Security, Job Quality, Paid Sick Days
Taxes and Budget Making the most of Maine's historic surplus When a state’s budget fully invests in its people and communities, everyone benefits. Today, Maine has a surplus and policymakers have an opportunity to improve people’s lives, […] Sarah Austin Posted March 1, 2022 Tags Budget, Economic Security, Education, Health Care, Job Quality, Paid Sick Days
Jobs and Income Surveys show strong support and widespread need for paid family and medical leave Maine’s Commission to Develop a Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program recently solicited public feedback through two separate surveys of employees and employers on the need […] James Myall Posted February 22, 2022 Tags Children, Economic Security, Job Quality, Jobs, Paid Sick Days
Jobs and Income LePage admits Medicaid expansion ‘good for Maine,’ but still wants cuts to program James Myall, a policy analyst with Maine Center for Economic Policy, estimates that roughly 86,000 Mainers currently enrolled in MaineCare would be subject to the requirement if […] Beacon Posted February 17, 2022 Tags Health Care, Job Quality, Medicaid
Jobs and Income Mills administration cracking down on employer wage and hour violations Although recently bolstered, the team of inspectors remains smaller than it was 50 years ago, which means relying on worker complaints, said James Myall, a policy analyst […] Portland Press Herald Posted February 6, 2022 Tags Job Quality, Jobs
Jobs and Income 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 […] Beacon Posted January 31, 2022 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Paid Sick Days
Jobs and Income Bill would make more than 30,000 salaried workers in Maine eligible for overtime Maine is among a handful of states that calculate their salary thresholds above the federal standard of $35,680. Raising overtime standards would group Maine with eight states […] Portland Press Herald Posted January 28, 2022 Tags Job Quality, Jobs
Jobs and Income Editorial: Removing workforce barriers Last week, the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a liberal-leaning think tank, released a report titled “State of Working Maine” and in it detailed the impact of the pandemic on […] Mount Desert Islander Posted December 2, 2021 Tags Coronavirus, Inequality, Job Quality, Jobs, Racial Equity, Unemployment, Wages
Jobs and Income, Maine’s Economy Rising inflation is likely temporary — and the Build Back Better bill will help curb it Over the past several months, inflation has risen relatively quickly, particularly in contrast to the past decade of exceptionally small price increases. This has led to misplaced […] James Myall Posted November 16, 2021 Tags Coronavirus, Economic Security, Economy, Employment, Job Quality, Jobs, Unions, Wages
Jobs and Income Our View: Getting Maine back to work According to MECEP, 25,000 people were out of work because of a lack of child care, keeping one out of eight mothers out of the workforce. There […] Portland Press Herald Posted November 14, 2021 Tags Children, Coronavirus, Job Quality, Jobs