Okay, I'm going to take a shot at this. This one isn't exactly a huge or appalling thing like those other states, but it's juxtaposition of the stories that makes it worth noting.
The legislature in Maine is preparing to pass some
amendments to their child labor laws, specifically regarding how many hours during school-years teenagers can work, especially in restaurants and hotels. Let the spokesman for the Maine Restaurant Association
explain it himself -
“Here’s the bottom line: Maine is considerably more restrictive than anybody else in New England. Not just a little bit, a lot,” said Dick Grotton of the restaurant group. “We’re just trying not to be the bottom rung of the ladder. The next up is Connecticut — they restrict hours of work per day to six rather than four, [let students] work until 11 p.m. rather than 10, 32 hours a week, not 20.”
Grotton said officials with Gov. Paul LePage’s administration have spoken with various industries, asking for examples of state laws they felt were stifling business.
Yes, not allowing people under 18 to work six hours a night instead of four is crippling Maine's service-economy. After all, it's not like teenagers have trouble spending time doing anything else in a week,
quote Sen. Debra Plowman, bill sponsor: "We have no other restrictions on any other things they do, They can play sports 32 hours-a-week. They can watch TV 32 hours-a-week. They can skateboard 32 hours-a-week."
Now, the obvious defense of this idea is that "allowing" is not "forcing". Certainly, upping the maximum hours high-schoolers can work at a restaurant by 60% is not locking kids in a coal-mine. But as the opponents of the bill pointed out, and anyone who ever worked when they were a teenager can attest, when you're a 16 year old busboy, and your boss "asks" you to work six hours instead of four, you are in absolutely no position to refuse him if you want to keep that job tomorrow. As likewise pointed out, allowing employers to ask existing employees to work longer hours does nothing to employ more people - if anything, it does the exact opposite. 'Cause, y'know, it's all about jobs.
Admittedly, it's not that big of a deal, considering Maine does have the most restrictive teenage-working laws in New England, as quoted. But like I said, it's the context that makes it noteworthy. The Governor riding herd on this argument, and in total favor of the bill, is Paul LePage. What else has Governor LePage been exercising his authority? Ordering a 2008 mural depicting the history of labor-rights movements in Maine
removed from the Department of Labor offices, and renaming the boardrooms from "Cesar Chavez" to... "Dick Grotton", by the sound of it. Apparently, lauding the history of labor rights inside the government building dedicated to defending labor rights
sends a bad message to employers. And what prompted this decision you ask? One anonymous letter to the governors' office, saying a viewer was
appalled by the display, because art-college quality depictions of a shoe-factory strike on government property is
one small step from Maine becoming North Korea. Hey LePage, don't show us all your cards at once.
And this last link has nothing to do with anything, honestly it doesn't, but Governor LePage likes to tell stories that when he was a tween,
he liked to steal candy from Trick-or-Treaters. I know it's prurient nonsense that really does say nothing about his qualities as a governor or what legislation he supports, but it's just too funny to ignore.