|
|
|
Getting A JobGetting a Job. The Maine Department of Labor may be able to help you find a job. The state has Career Centers where people can go to look for jobs and develop skills for finding and keeping a job. (See Resources.) Working requirements. You may not be hired unless you are legally allowed to work in the United States. You will be asked to show documents within the first three days of starting work. These documents must prove your identity and show that you are allowed to work in the U.S. The employer will ask you to fill out Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Form. The backside of the I-9 form lists documents that you can show the employer to prove these things. You can show any of the documents listed on the form. It is illegal for the employer to say that you must show a certain type of document. This is "document abuse." As long as you are showing himdocument(s) listed on the I-9 form, you meet the requirement. Discrimination in Hiring. You cannot be refused a job because of your:
"National origin discrimination" is when an employer refuses to hire you because you "look" or "sound" foreign. It is illegal. It is illegal for an employer to pay you less for those reasons. "Citizenship discrimination" is when an employer says he only hires people with their green cards. It is illegal to discriminate against you if you have a work permit or some other status that allows you to work in the U.S. Some government jobs require that employees must be U.S. citizens. You may have to speak English if it is needed to adequately or safely do your job. You must be told when you must speak English. You must be told what will happen to you if you do not. You must also be told when you can speak another language, such as during your breaks. You can file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel in Washington D.C. if you believe that an employer has committed citizenship or national origin discrimination or document abuse. (See Resources.) You must do this within 180 days. You may also file a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Workers' Rights. Employment Contracts. Your employer does not have to provide you an employment contract. Most workers are employed "at-will" meaning that the employer has the right to fire you at any time and you have the right to quit whenever you want. If you do have an employment contract both your employer and you must follow the agreements made in the contract Unions. You have the right to form or join a union. You have the right to join or form a union to negotiate with your employer. In Maine, employers may not hire workers to break a union strike if your union organizes you and other workers to "strike" or refuse to work in order to gain some benefit from your employer. Drug Testing. You may be required to take a drug test at work if federal law requires drug testing or if the Maine Department of Labor has approved an employer's drug policy. Your employer may refuse to hire you or may fire you if you refuse to take a drug test. If you test positive for drugs your employer may:
Family and Medical Leave. By state law, if your employer has more that 15 employees or is a public agency and you have worked there for 12 months in a row, you have a right to 10 weeks unpaid leave if:
Domestic Violence Leave. If you are a victim of domestic violence or stalking your employer must give you time off from work:
Religious Rights. You have a right to practice your religion. At a business with more than 15 employees, your employer must accommodate your religious practices unless they interfere with the business. Your employer must make reasonable efforts for you to take off time for:
Privacy. You have the right to see your entire personnel file and to make a copy at your expense. You must ask in writing to see your file. Your employer must allow you access to your file during normal business hours within ten days of your request. Your employer may not use lie detector tests as a condition of employment. Minimum Wage, Overtime Pay, and Breaks. The minimum wage in Maine is $6.25 an hour. Maine does not have a special wage for training employees or students. If you are an employee who receives tips your employer can pay you ½ of the minimum wage. If your tips plus your salary do not equal minimum wage in any given week, your employer must make up the difference. You are entitled to overtime pay if you work more than 40 hours in a week. Overtime pay is 1 ½ times your hourly wage. Your employer does not have to pay you overtime for working on a holiday. Your employer may not require you to work more than 80 hours in a week for more than two weeks at a time unless:
You are allowed one 30 minute break for every six hours of work if you work in a business that has more than 3 employees working at any given time. This is not true if you have a written agreement with your employer that says otherwise. Most of these laws do not apply to agricultural work. Workplace Safety. You have the right to be safe in the workplace. You may refuse to do a job if you think it may cause death or serious injury. Employers must make workplaces safe from "serious recognized hazards." The Maine Department of Labor checks public workplaces regularly to make sure that they are safe. If you work for a private employer, you may report any unsafe conditions to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (See Resources.) You have a right to special training if you work at a computer for more than 4 hours a day. You also have a "right to know" if chemicals or other harmful materials are used in your workplace. Your employer has a duty to train you to work with these materials safely. You also have a right to be safe from second hand smoke in your workplace. Smoking may be allowed in certain areas of the building you work in. This area must be separately ventilated to keep smoke out of the workplace. Your employer may not discriminate against you for smoking outside of the workplace. Your employer may not fire you or threaten to fire you because you report a legal or safety violation. Your employer may not fire you because you take part in a government investigation. If you do notice a legal or safety violation, tell your employer what is wrong. Give them a reasonable amount of time to fix the problem. Workplace Raids by Immigration Immigration (the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement) can come to any workplace to make sure that all of the workers are legally in the U.S. and have legal permission to work. You can be fired from your job and deported if you do not have legal permission to work in the U.S. If you are not legally here, you still have legal rights when confronted by an Immigration agent. These include:
If Immigration does not detain you but gives you papers that say you must go to the Immigration Court, speak with an immigration lawyer as soon as possible. (See Resources.) Contact an immigration lawyer if you have any questions about workplace raids or any other question about immigration laws and enforcement. Unemployment The government provides unemployment benefits for workers who are out of work. These benefits are a temporary aid to workers who are unemployed. You can receive unemployment for up to 26 weeks. Your benefits are based on the wages you have earned over a specific period of time. In times of high unemployment "extended benefits" are sometimes available. To get unemployment benefits, you must pass two basic tests: eligibility and "fault". Basically you must:
What to do. As soon as you are out of work, file a claim. Call an Unemployment Claims Call Center or by get a claim form from your town office or nearest Department of Labor Career Center. You will be asked to provide information about your employment history, the reason for your job loss and your availability for work. Who is eligible? Your eligibility is based on your having earned a minimum amount in the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters (Jan. - March, April - June, July - Sept., Oct. - Dec.). If you don't have enough earnings during that year, the agency will then look at your four most recent completed quarters. You must also have earned a certain amount in each of two quarters during this period. (Workers who are employed in seasonal industries have their benefits calculated differently.) The reason for your unemployment must not be your fault, such as:
Appealing deputy's decision. You have the right to appeal the deputy's decision to an informal hearing. You must file an appeal within 15 days of the date of the deputy's decision. The hearing office will explain to you what happens after you file the appeal. Termination of Employment Maine employers and employees work under a very old system called "employment at will." This means that if you are hired for an indefinite length of time, you are free to leave the job whenever you want. The employer is equally free to terminate you without notice and without cause. But there are major exceptions to this basic rule. Fired without notice or without cause. The general rule is that no notice is required. However, in certain situations you may be required to give a week's notice before you leave, and the employer must give you a week's notice before he lets you go. This rule holds only if you and your employer have specifically agreed on it. If you can prove that you and your boss entered into an employment agreement that says you can be discharged only for specific reasons, this contract may be binding on the employer. For example, your contract may say that you can only be fired for "good cause." Union labor contracts. Where your employer and your union have a labor contract, you probably have a grievance process and cannot be discharged without good cause. Even if you are not a union member, you may still have rights to union representation you if you are going to be fired. You may have to pay for this service. Illegal Grounds for Termination Retaliatory firings. A state law called the "Whistleblowers' Protection Act" protects you from good faith reporting of work place violations to a governmental agency. To be covered you must have first reported the problem to your supervisor. You must allow a reasonable time for correction before making your complaint. The only exception is if you have specific reason to believe that reporting the violation will not result in prompt attention to the problem. Dangerous working conditions. The law protects you from being fired because you refused to do a dangerous job. However the threat to you must have been immediate and very serious. To file a complaint if you were discharged over a safety issue, contact your nearest U.S. Department of Labor OSHA office. More illegal firing rules. Your employer may not fire you solely because:
You cannot be fired because you were injured on the job and file a Worker's Compensation claim. Payment on Termination Once you have left work, ask to get your final paycheck. Your employer must give it to you on the next regular payday or within 2 weeks, whichever is earlier. This check should include any vacation pay your employer owes you. If wages are wrongfully withheld, you can sue for three times the amount withheld plus interest on the original amount and attorney's fees. If your company closes and has no money left, you can get up to two weeks of back pay from the Maine Wage Assurance Fund. Debts to the boss. Unless you have agreed in writing, your ex-employer cannot withhold money from you to settle a debt he claims you owe. Severance pay. By Maine statute, you are not entitled to severance pay unless:
Workers' Compensation If you suffer a job-related injury, you can get money from the state to help you get through your loss. Most Maine workers are covered by this benefit. You must tell your employer if you are hurt on the job. You must do this within 90 days of your injury. Seek medical help right away. This will help to document your claim. Your employer must file a "First Report" with the Workers' Compensation agency and give you a copy. You may be able to get some or all of these benefits:
You have appeal rights if the State denies your claim. The steps are:
Starting Your Own Business Before you start a business, you should consult with an experienced attorney about the business's structure and obligations under state and federal law. There are three basic ways of organizing a business:
Sole proprietorship. Most people start their business as a sole proprietorship. A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned and controlled by one person. This person takes all responsibility for profits, losses, and all legal liability. If you are the sole proprietor, you are responsible for any debts to creditors and any lawsuits brought against the business. These debts and liabilities can be taken out of any property or assets you own for the business as well as anything you own personally, like your home. Partnership. If you are starting a business with more than one person, it is a partnership. A partnership is a flexible business organization. It is similar to a sole proprietorship in that the owners can be held personally responsible for any debts or liabilities that the business acquires. It is different in that in some instances, for example in owning or conveying title to real or personal property, the partnership exists independently of the individual partners. Partnerships do not pay federal income tax. Instead, the individual partners pay tax. Corporations. A corporation is considered a separate entity from the company's owners. The owners are called "shareholders" because each owner holds one or more "shares" in the company. The shareholders of a corporation have limited liability for the company's debts, conduct and obligations. A board of directors manages a corporation. In an annual stockholders' meeting, the board makes a report to the shareholders. A corporation can be taxed, sued and enter into contractual obligations. A corporation must be registered with the state. Financing a Business. You can create your business with your own assets or through a commercial lender. To get a loan from a bank to finance a business idea you will need a written business plan, proof of your income, good credit, and proof that you have filed and paid income taxes. You will also need a social security number. Resources. Immigration Legal Aid in Maine Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project 309 Cumberland Avenue, Suite 201 Portland, Maine 04101 207-780-1593 or 1-800-497-8505 info@ilapmaine.org Services are free or low-fee depending on income. Walk-in consultations with an immigration lawyer are available every Friday. Call for hours. Private Immigration Lawyers: See the "Immigration Law" listing under "Lawyers" in the Yellow Pages of the phone book Discrimination: U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 (800) 255-7688 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission John F. Kennedy Federal Building 475 Government Center Boston, MA 02203 (617) 565-3200 TTY (617) 565-3204 or 1-800-669-6820 www.eeoc.gov Maine Human Rights Commission 51 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0051 (207) 624–6050 Workers' Rights: Maine Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Standards 45 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0045 (207) 624-6400 or 624-6410 Career Centers, 1-888-457-8833. U.S. Dep't of Labor, OSHA offices: Portland District Office 100 Middle Street, Suite 410 West Portland, Maine 04101 (207) 780-3178 Bangor Area Office 202 Harlow Street, Room 211 Bangor, Maine 04401 (207) 941-8177 Starting a business: Small Business Administration Maine District Office Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, Room 512 68 Sewell Street Augusta, ME 04330 (207) 622-8274 Maine Employee Rights Guide http://www.maine.gov/labor/bls/employeerightsguide.htm If You Lose Your Job: Information for Unemployed Workers www.ptla.org/ptlasite/cliented/employ.htm Sexual Harassment on the Job: It Is Illegal http://mainegov-images.informe.org/mhrc/PUBLICATIONS/brochure.pdf Maine Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance Benefits information www.state.me.us/labor/uibennys/index.html Unemployed Worker Benefits www.ptla.org/ptlasite/cliented/unemployment.htm OSHA Workers' Page www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/index.html Facts About Maine Workers' Compensation Law www.state.me.us/wcb/facts.htm The New England Pension Assistance Project University of Massachusetts Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, Massachusetts 02125-3393 Telephone: 617-287-7332 www.pensionaction.org/nepap.htm |
|