Gender discrimination - Maine

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Employer defined

“Employer” includes:

• Any person in the state employing any number of employees, whatever the place of employment of the employees, and any person outside the state employing any number of employees whose usual place of employment is in the state;
• Any person acting in the interest of any employer, directly or indirectly; and labor organizations, whether or not organized on a religious, fraternal or sectarian basis, with respect to their employment of employees.

“Employer” does not include a religious or fraternal corporation or association, not organized for private profit and in fact not conducted for private profit, with respect to employment of its members of the same religion, sect or fraternity, except for purposes of disability-related discrimination, in which case the corporation or association is considered to be an employer.

Unlawful employment practices

The unlawful employment practices and exemptions are similar to those under the federal Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex. For example, the state law includes provisions for bona fide occupational qualifications.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breast-feed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be.

Maine law also includes a provision regarding sex discrimination wage claims by clarifying that employers may not prohibit employees from disclosing the employee’s own wages or from inquiring about another employee’s wages if the purpose of the disclosure or inquiry is to enforce the “equal pay for equal work” provisions of law. However, this rule does not create any obligation to disclose wages.

A complaint of discrimination must be filed with the Human Rights Commission not more than six months after the act of alleged discrimination occurred.

Recordkeeping

Any personnel or employment record (including, but not limited to: employment application forms, applicant and employee rating sheets, tests, and other records having to do with job referral, hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-off, rates of pay or other terms of compensation, seniority, labor organization memberships or selection for training or apprenticeship) made or kept by an employer, employment agency or labor organization must be preserved for at least one year from the date of the making of the record or the personnel action involved, whichever occurs later. When an employee has been involuntarily terminated, the personnel records of the individual terminated must be kept for one year from the date of termination.

State

Contact

Human Rights Commission

Regulations

Statutes: Title 5, Part 12, Chapter 337 Human Rights Act
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/5/title5ch337sec0.html

Statutes: Title 5, Part 12, Chapter 337-A Protection from Harassment
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/5/title5ch337-Asec0.html

Maine Human Rights Commission, 94-348, Chapter 3, Employment Regulations of the Maine Human Rights Commission
http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/90/chaps90-.htm

Federal

Contact

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Regulations

29 CFR Part 1604, Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex