PORTLAND, Maine — State officials overturned a decision denying unemployment insurance payments to unionized FairPoint employees in Maine for the time they were on strike, granting those payments to as many as 800 workers.
Two unions representing workers at the company said in a statement that the decision found the company did not have a “stoppage of work” during the 131-day strike and therefore the employees qualified for those payments.
Employees who applied for unemployment insurance would be eligible for payments starting Oct. 19, 2014, following the strike that began Oct. 16, 2014.
Julie Rabinowitz, a spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Labor, said she could not provide a copy of the decision from the department’s Bureau of Unemployment Compensation because they are only provided to parties in the claim.
Angelynne Amores Beaudry said the company believes the decision is flawed and it is appealing the ruling. The company appealed a decision in Vermont, where state labor officials in November decided to grant unemployment benefits to the FairPoint employees on strike there.
Neither officials from the union or the company were immediately available to say how much the company is required to pay as a result of the decision.
The union in its statement said if FairPoint appeals the ruling successfully, claimants might have to pay back some of that money depending on factors such as how long the appeal process takes and the person’s work status at the time of the payment.
The decision comes as the union is still negotiating with FairPoint over the company’s plan to lay off 219 people in Maine, which the company said is a response to declining revenue from its landline services.