CARIBOU, Maine — Sen. Troy Jackson, (D-Aroostook County), and Rep. John L. Martin, ( D-Eagle Lake), are expressing satisfaction of a recent judgment by Aroostook County Superior Court Justice Honorable E. Allen Hunter regarding a final consent decree and order against three Canadian logging companies, listing their place of business as Fort Kent, who admitted to violating Maine law for failing to show ownership of equipment.
Under a complaint filed by the Maine Department of Labor represented by Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, three logging companies — A.D. Logging, Inc., B.J. Jalbert, Inc., and S.L. Logging, Inc. — were accused of violating labor laws under Title 26 of Maine Law, section 872. The law states that a Maine employer employing a foreign worker in a Maine-based logging occupation shall provide proof of ownership for any equipment used by that worker in the course of employment.
The consolidated final consent decree and order judgment required all three defendants to admit that the complaint filed by the state was true, and pay civil fines of $1,000 each.
Sen. Jackson pointed out that, essentially, Canadian workers are coming over the border to work for a Maine-based company and bringing their own logging equipment with them.
“The consent decree adjudicated by Superior Court Justice Hunter finally proves what we have been saying all along — these foreign companies, using foreign workers, have been operating here illegally using their own equipment brought over the border,” Sen. Jackson commented.
Rep. Martin, who has co-sponsored numerous bills and laws with Sen. Jackson to stop these illegal practices said, “This is what we have been saying all along— these companies have been breaking our laws at the expense of Maine workers and our economy.”
“More important than the fine is the admission of guilt by these Canadian companies. When they are applying for alien certification with the U.S. Department of Labor, we now can show proof that they are adversely effecting working conditions and wages and that their application should be denied,” Sen. Jackson added.
Sen. Jackson and Rep. Martin both were co-sponsors of LD 1492, An Act to Improve Opportunity in the Maine Woods, now part of Title 26 section 872. The law includes the requirement that a Maine employer employing a foreign worker in a Maine-based logging occupation shall provide proof of ownership for any equipment used by that worker in the course of employment.
More information regarding the case can be found searching Superior Court Consolidated Docket NOS. CARSC-CV-2009-124, CARSC-CV-2009-170, and CARSC-CV-2009-172.
