Mainebiz

May 16, 2016

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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 M AY 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 Bar Harbor/Hancock County Airport. The contract extension takes effect on July 1 and will run through June 30, 2020. Bar Harbor Bankshares, the parent company of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, announced record net income of $4.4 million for the first quarter of 2016, representing an increase of $525,000, or 13.5%, compared with the first quar- ter of 2015. The bank also reported record diluted earnings per share of 72 cents for the quarter, representing an increase of 8 cents, or 12.5%, com- pared with the first quarter of 2015. Burgess Computer in Bath changed its name to Burgess Technology Services. 250 Main, an independent 26-room boutique hotel in Rockland, opened at 250 Main St. The hotel is managed by Migis Hotel Group. Seafood retailer setting up shop in Bangor A Milbridge seafood retailer will convert a Bangor filling station into a seafood shop. Dorr Lobster owner Chad Dorr told the Bangor Daily News that the location will sell live lobsters, crab meat, fresh fish and frozen products, in addition to seafood rolls and chowders. A grand opening is slated for June 4, though it may be able to open before that. Dorr Lobster was founded by Dorr's father, Richard Dorr, in 1977. e company has an Ellsworth store as well. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N Maine Quality Centers, a program of the Maine Community College System that provides customized workforce training grants for employ- ers locating or expanding operations in Maine, awarded $56,000 to Troy Industrial Solutions in Brewer for no cost, customized Lean training for up to 45 of its employees. Pioneer Broadband in Houlton was awarded nearly $200,000 in grant funding from the ConnectME Authority to improve Internet access in unserved locations in the town of Fort Fairfield. A proposed change to the nation's overtime eligi- bility regulations could quadruple the number of workers in Maine who would be covered by the new salary threshold — rising from 16,000 to 64,000 workers. More than half of those benefiting in Maine — 25,000, or 52% of the projected increase in eligi- bility — are women, while 22,000 (46%) are men. ose findings are included in a May 2 report issued by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., highlighting public comments from workers and their families in all 50 states in support of the proposed new federal overtime rule, which is scheduled to be finalized very soon. Nationwide, Warren stated, the rule would benefit more than 13.5 million workers by making them newly eligible for overtime pay or strengthening their protections against being misclassified by employers. e U.S Department of Labor has not updated the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime threshold since 2004, when it was adjusted from $250 per week to $455 per week under President George W. Bush. Under the proposed rule, the U.S. Department of Labor would increase the sal- ary threshold under which non-exempt employ- ees would be required to receive overtime pay of 1.5 times their regular hour rate whenever they work more than 40 hours per week. Currently, that's $23,660 (or $455 per week). e new rule would raise it to $50,440 (or $970 per week) — although recent press reports suggest DOL might raise it only to $47,000 (or $903.85 per week). In a May 2 letter to Shaun Donovan, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Warren encouraged him "to pay particular attention" to the more than 270,000 public comments made since the proposed rule was issued on June 30, 2015. "Too often, the voices of workers are buried beneath a flood of comments from lobbyists and lawyers," she wrote. "But the record before your agency dem- onstrates that American workers are demanding updated overtime rules. Updated overtime rules will give millions of working families a fighting chance to build more financial security for them- selves. It's time for us all to listen to those voices." e DOL sent the final rules to the White House's OMB in mid-March. Warren is among the Democratic lawmakers urging OMB to approve the rules quickly, while Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation to block them. Sen. King outlines his concerns "While I support the overall aim of increasing wages for Americans, I have serious concerns about the proposed overtime rule's impact in Maine," U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, wrote in an April 12 letter to OMB. Among King's concerns, as spelled out in his letter: Salary threshold: "[T]he proposed salary thresh- old runs the risk of being too much, too soon for many Maine employers." King suggested a "more prudent course of action" would be to phase in the new salary threshold over three years. Automatic increase: e draft rule calls for a change in the usual practice of periodically updating the overtime threshold to an automatic adjustment, "without an accommodation for regional trends." Implementation timeline: e draft rule calls for businesses to be compliant within six months of the final rule being published. King suggests a one-year deadline would be better to give busi- nesses time "to understand their compliance obli- gations and to adjust their budgets accordingly." In an April 15 alert posted on the Preti Flaherty website, Matthew LaMourie, an attorney with the firm's employment law group, recommends that "over the next 90 days, all employers ought to begin modeling the potential payroll costs and effects associated with the new standards." P O L I T I C S & C O. B Y J A M E S M C C A R T H Y New overtime rule could quadruple number of eligible Maine workers Conference Services We focus on the details so you can focus on the program. umaine.edu/conferences 207.581.4094 • conference.services@maine.edu The University of Maine is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution Your destination for conferences, symposia, workshops, corporate training and retreats, meetings, and camps • Catering and food service • Accommodations • Event registrations (online and/or onsite) • Audio-visual and wifi • Marketing and mailings • Budget planning/fiscal agent • Ordering and preparing conference materials • Transportation to offsite events • Print materials and electronic communications N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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