This session, Jamie has filed the following pieces of legislation to increase protections for workers:

An Act Relative to Group 4 Retirement for Police and Fire Dispatchers: This bill would move emergency dispatchers in police and fire departments into Group 4 of the retirement system.  These employees perform vital, stressful work and are often the difference between a citizen in distress living or dying.  The level of responsibility placed on these workers is more appropriately classified under Group 4.

An Act Relative to Meal Breaks: This bill provides that minimum wage employees have the right to a thirty minute meal break after working more than six hours.

An Act Establishing Uniform Wage Compliance and Record Keeping : Current federal law allows plaintiffs up to three years to sue for violations of minimum wage and overtime laws, but our state law allows only two. This bill would address that inconsistency, changing the statute of limitations to match the three-year federal statute of limitations.  The Act would also correspondingly extend the payroll record retention requirement from two years to three years.

An Act Relative to Housing Authority Employees: This bill would allow an employee of a housing authority who transfers to another department within the same municipality to receive full creditable service for all time worked at the housing authority.

An Act Authorizing Certain Public Employees  Creditable Retirement Service: This bill would allow public employees who served as volunteers in the Peace Corps, Vista, The Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, or the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to count that time served towards their creditable retirement service, up to five years.