AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine Department of Labor has rescheduled a vote on a proposal by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would force workforce development agencies to spend a larger portion of their money directly on worker training.
Mike Bourret, executive director of Coastal Counties Workforce, tells the Portland Press Herald the move would force agencies like his to cut staff and locations just to meet the threshold.
The Maine State Workforce Board was supposed to hold an emergency meeting on the proposal Wednesday, but it was postponed because members couldn’t attend so close to Thanksgiving.
LePage has argued that the state’s three workforce development agencies spend too much on administration and should be replaced by a single statewide agency.
Coastal Counties Workforce has sued the governor, saying he illegally withheld federal funding.
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