By Maine.gov

Following news of the abrupt closure of CenterPoint, a call center in York County, the Maine Department of Labor has announced plans to assist affected workforce this week.

"We are committed to quickly connecting with the affected workforce to ensure they have access to benefits that are available to them," said Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman.

Department of Labor staff spoke with a representative from the company today and are working to obtain information on the affected workforce. In the meantime, the agency has scheduled a Rapid Response session for 4:00 PM Thursday, June 3rd at South Berwick Town Hall at 180 Main Street in South Berwick. The forum will provide workers with the opportunity to learn about resources available to dislocated workers, including unemployment benefits, CareerCenter services, including reemployment services, and educational and retraining options.

Labor department officials are also trying to determine whether the workers are owed any unpaid wages or severance pay. Maine law requires certain large employers to pay severance to laid-off workers employed three or more years based on a "one week's pay per year employed" formula after the employer substantially ceases operation of a facility. 

Commissioner Fortman indicated that the department is also looking into whether or not the workers may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA.) The program provides affected workers with re-employment services, training, job search and relocation allowance for out of area job searches, tax credits to cover a portion of health insurance premiums, and weekly benefits.  

Call center workers may be found eligible for TAA if the US Department of Labor determines that their layoff was the result of a shift in work to other overseas call center operations. 

For more information, CenterPoint workers can contact the Springvale CareerCenter at (207) 324-5460 or TTY: 888-697-2913.