Bill > LD1538

This bill renames the Employment Security Law to the Reemployment Assistance Program and modifies unemployment benefits based on the state's average unemployment rate. Specifically, the bill establishes that unemployed individuals will receive 14 weeks of benefits if the state's average unemployment rate is 5.5% or below, with an additional week of benefits for every 0.5 percentage points the rate is above 5.5%, up to a maximum of 26 weeks. The bill introduces a new definition for "state average unemployment rate" as the average of the most recent three months of the third quarter's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, as published by the Department of Labor. Throughout the bill, various references to the "Employment Security Law" are replaced with "Reemployment Assistance Program" in multiple sections of Maine's statutes. This change affects how unemployment benefits are calculated and referenced across different legal contexts, potentially providing more flexibility in benefit duration based on economic conditions while maintaining a consistent maximum benefit period.

Labor and Employment

https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?LD=1538&snum=132