An Act To Establish Penalties for Violation of the Severance Pay Law
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §625-B, sub-§6-A, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 337, is amended to read:
6-A. Notice to employees and municipality. Any A person proposing to terminate or to relocate a covered establishment outside the State shall notify employees , and the municipal officers of the municipality where the plant is located , in writing not less than 60 days prior to the termination or relocation. Any A person violating that violates this provision commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture fine of not more than $500 may be adjudged, provided except that no forfeiture a fine may not be adjudged if the relocation is necessitated by a physical calamity, or if the failure to give notice is due to unforeseen circumstances.
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §625-B, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9. Penalties. A person that violates a provision of this section, except for subsection 6-A, commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation may be adjudged. Each employee affected constitutes a separate violation.
summary
Current law requires a person proposing to relocate a business outside of the State to provide notice of the relocation to the employees of that business and the officers of the municipality in which the business is located. This bill requires the same notice if the person terminates the business. This bill also provides penalties for noncompliance with the severance pay law.