New Maine law will protect state and federal workers during government shutdowns
COURTESY / U.S. NAVY
Workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will benefit from LD 874 in the event of a government shutdown.
A new law signed by Gov. Janet Mills will provide support to state and federal employees who are forced to work without pay or are furloughed during a government shutdown.
LD 874 creates a loan guarantee program offering interest-free loans to cover lost income for essential state and federal employees during shutdowns lasting more than seven days. It was sponsored by state Rep. Kristi Mathieson, D-Kittery.
Under the program, federal and state workers can receive up to three individual loans per shutdown, with repayment delayed until the shutdown ends or 90 days later, and no interest will be charged for 180 days after that.
The legislation was originally conceived of in the aftermath of the 35-day federal government shutdown in 2018-19, according to a statement from the Maine AFL-CIO.
“Federal and state employees in Maine are the backbone of essential services, from providing health care, maintaining roads, providing public safety and protecting our most vulnerable to maintaining our navy submarines and safeguarding aviation and infrastructure,” said Alana Schaeffer, president of the Metal Trades Council, which represents 3,000 employees across ten trades at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, based in Kittery.
“We don’t cause the political gridlock that causes government shutdowns, but we do pay the cost of this dysfunction," Schaeffer added.
She cited the work of state Rep. Kristi Mathieson, D-Kittery; Sen. Donna Bailey, D-York; Sen. Cameron Reny D-Lincoln; and Gov. Janet Mills.
The Maine AFL-CIO, is the state’s largest labor organization, a federation of 200 unions representing 40,000 Maine workers.
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