Maine § 1825-L. - State purchasing code of conduct

"Maine is a state that believes employers should fairly compensate hard work, that the health and safety of working people should be protected and that no form of unlawful discrimination or abuse should be tolerated. Maine citizens are aware that laws and regulations designed to safeguard basic tenets of ethical business practice are disregarded in many workplaces, commonly referred to as "sweatshops." State Government purchase of goods made under abusive conditions on behalf of its citizens offends Maine citizens' sense of justice and decency. Moreover, when the State of Maine contracts with vendors whose suppliers profit by providing substandard wages and working conditions, Maine's businesses are put at a competitive disadvantage. Therefore, the State of Maine believes in doing business with vendors who make a good faith effort to ensure that they and their suppliers at the point of assembly adhere to the principles of the State of Maine's purchasing code of conduct.

2.  Employment and business conduct; requirements.  With respect to goods covered by this subchapter, a company contracting with the State to supply those goods shall adopt and adhere to employment and business practices in accordance with this subsection. A company shall:

A. Comply with all applicable wage, health, labor, environmental and safety laws, legal guarantees of freedom of association, building and fire codes and laws relating to discrimination in hiring, promotion or compensation on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry or national origin, age or familial status or affiliation with any political, nongovernmental or civic group except when federal law precludes the State from attaching the procurement conditions provided in this subchapter.   [PL 2021, c. 553, §10 (AMD).]

B. Comply with all human and labor rights treaty obligations that are shared by the United States and the country in which the goods are assembled. These may include obligations with regard to forced labor, indentured labor, slave labor, child labor, involuntary prison labor, physical and sexual abuse and freedom of association.   [PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. NNNN, §1 (NEW).]

3.  Consequences of noncompliance with purchasing code of conduct.