AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Labor announced Thursday that it is tightening work search requirements for people on unemployment, reinstating the traditional work search requirements as of Sunday, May 23, 2021.
Maine had temporarily expanded the types of activities that would meet the work search requirement due to sudden closings, health concerns, school, childcare and other issues brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Thousands of Maine people lost their jobs during the pandemic, through no fault of their own. Now it is our goal to get them back to work,” Maine Department of Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said in a release. “With vaccines more widely available, and with businesses re-opened now and in need of help – especially with the busy tourism season approaching, we want people to rejoin the workforce, earn a living and aid in our state’s economic recovery.”
Work search requirements had been relaxed because of the pandemic to include job-related education, skills development, and networking. Now, the Maine Department of Labor says people receiving unemployment will be required to actively look for work and to accept positions for which they are reasonably qualified. A refusal to accept an offer of suitable work is grounds for disqualifying a person for benefits, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
The Maine Department of Labor says its regional CareerCenters will assist people to connect with jobs by hosting job fairs, offering job workshops and reemployment services.
Fortman also said, in many cases, people receiving unemployment benefits can go back to work part-time and still retain the $300 weekly stipend offered by Congress through this summer. A new online tool offered by the Department will calculate how many hours a week a person can work and still collect partial benefits, including the $300 stipend, based on weekly earnings. The tool can be found HERE under “Looking for work?”
Those who were self-employed and now receiving unemployment must attest to engaging in activities designed to fully reopen their business, such as connecting with the Office of Business Development to explore the resources available to small businesses, according to the Maine Department of Labor. If a person was previously self-employed but has no plans to return to self-employment, they will be required to do a work search and accept a position for which they are reasonably qualified, the Maine Department of Labor said.
The Maine Department of Labor also provided the following resources to help people find employment:
Whether or not currently unemployed, people looking for work can visit Maine JobLink, to find thousands of jobs posted, including remote work. Employers can post their jobs by registering with the Maine JobLink.
CareerCenters host a variety of job fairs as well as one-on-one meetings with a consultant, to develop employment or training plans. The CareerCenter can be reached by email at MaineDOL.CareerCenter@maine.gov, by phone at 207-623-7981, or by live-chat at MaineCareerCenter.gov.
Employers who have tried to recall employees or have made job offers that have been declined can report those refusals HERE. The Department will determine whether the individual is receiving unemployment benefits, and, if so, determine whether they should remain eligible.
Employers can also participate in the WorkShare program, which is designed to help employers avoid layoffs by allowing groups of workers to receive partial unemployment benefit payments while their employer reduces their hours. The employees are then subject to being called back when work expands.
For the week ending May 1, the Maine Department of Labor said it recorded about 1,400 initial claims filed for state unemployment insurance, and 300 initial claims filed for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). In total, approximately 1,600 people were filing an initial claim or reopening their unemployment claim.
About 13,550 weekly certifications, or continued claims, were filed last week for state unemployment, with another 13,200 weekly certifications filed under PUA. In addition, about 17,100 weekly certifications were filed for the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.
Between March 15, 2020 and May 1, 2021, the Maine Department of Labor said it has paid out over $2.1 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 498,000, the lowest point since the viral pandemic struck 14 months ago and a sign of the job market's growing strength as businesses reopen and consumers step up spending.
