Maine's Plant-Closing Law: Analysis and Proposals

On February 4, 1989, the first United States statute specifically directed at plant closings officially took effect. The enactment of this statute comes some seventeen years after Maine adopted the first extensive plant-closing law in the nation. In the interval, eight other states adopted legislation addressing the problems created by large-scale industrial or commercial shutdowns. These laws represent a considerable range of approaches, both voluntary and compulsory, to the plant-closing problem. The purpose of this Comment is to analyze the plant-closing law of Maine in the context of such laws nationally. Part II provides an overview of the state and federal laws addressing the problem of plant shutdowns, focusing finally upon the functioning of the Maine law in light of the enactment of the federal statute. Part III examines in detail the content and the history of the law of plant closings in Maine, identifying potentially litigable issues arising under that law, and suggesting how these issues may be resolved both legislatively and judicially. Proposals to resolve ambiguities in the Maine law are informed by reference to the laws enacted in other states and are based on the understanding, developed below, that the legislative intent in enacting the Maine law is primarily to protect Maine communities from the destructive effects of plant closings.