For Businesses

Public health intersects with the business world in various ways, from licensing to worksite wellness programs to plans for maintaining operations during a public health emergency. Below you will find public health resources for your business or worksite.

On this page:

Business environment

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Emergency planning and response

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Health and Wellness

  • Access flu information for businesses and employers
  • Print or order flu posters
  • Use the Healthy Maine Works wellness planning tool to develop or enhance wellness programs that support the health of employees and family members. The tool can be used electronically or with pen and paper and is offered to employers by the local Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMP) all across Maine.  To get started, contact your local HMP.
  • Check out the free Good Work! Resource Kit for examples of low-cost strategies to support employee health and productivity. Good Work! provides information about worksite wellness principles, offers successful strategies and company profiles of Maine employers, and provides tools and helpful resources related to tobacco use, physical activity, nutrition, and drug-free workplaces. 
  • Consider implementing the following strategies to improve your employees’ cardiovascular health:
    • Provide opportunities and encouragement for staff to have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked at work, at a community screening, or by a health care provider
    • Raise awareness of the symptoms of heart attack, stroke, and when to call 911. Free resources to help raise awareness are available at https://www.cardioresources.mcd.org/ 
    • Ensure that key staff members have been trained in CPR
    • Ask your insurance carrier about services related to cardiovascular health and risk reduction.  Make employees aware of such services.
    • Promote healthy eating at the workplace, and in particular, the importance of a low-sodium diet to prevent heart disease

Licensed facilities

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Posters and signs

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Smoke-free workplaces

  • Smoke-free workplaces
    • Maine’s Workplace Smoking Act requires:
      • That all enclosed areas of business facilities in Maine where employees perform work and for which the employer is responsible are smoke-free.
      • Every employer must establish a written smoking policy that complies with current state law.
      • Employers must post this policy and provide a copy of the policy to any employee who requests it.
      • Employers may ONLY allow smoking outdoors, at least 20 ft. from entryways, windows, vents and doorways, and not in any location that allows smoke to circulate back into the building.
  • Common Questions and Answers:
    • Q. Where in Maine workplaces is smoking prohibited? Details +
      • A. Smoking is banned by law in all enclosed areas where work is performed, as well as in all rest rooms, all meeting rooms, all lunch rooms, and in all private offices. It is also banned in all employer-owned and -leased vehicles used by employees and in employee-owned vehicles used in the course of work whenever other employees or another person is in the vehicle for work-related reasons.

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    • Q. Is smoking banned within residential facilities licensed by DHHS when an employee is physically present to perform work there? Detail +
      • A. Yes

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    • Q. Where may employers allow smoking? Detail +
      • A. Employers in Maine may only allow smoking outdoors, at least 20 ft. from entryways, vents, and doorways, and not in a location that allows smoke to circulate back into the building.

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    • Q. Under Maine law, can employers refuse to hire tobacco users? Detail +
      • A. NO, employers may not require, as a condition of employment, that employees or prospective employees refrain from tobacco use when they are not at work, or otherwise discriminate against employees who use tobacco outside of employment.

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    • Q. May employers in Maine create stricter written policies than required by state law? Detail +
      • A. YES. Employers may decide to prohibit the use of all tobacco/nicotine containing products including smokeless tobacco, cigars, snus and/or electronic cigarettes. Employers may also decide not to allow any smoking or any tobacco use anywhere on their entire property, including all outdoor areas.

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    • Q. How is the law enforced and how are complaints filed? Detail +
      • A. Any employee, building owner, or member of the public may report violations to Maine CDC, the Office of the Attorney General, or local law enforcement officials. When presented with evidence of a violation, the Office of the Attorney General and local District Attorneys can file complaints in District Court seeking fines ranging from $100–$1,500.
        The Attorney General can also ask the District or Superior Court to compel compliance with the law. Reports of violations are also forwarded to other licensing and certifying agencies for possible administrative action.

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    • Q. How can a complaint be filed? Detail +
      • A. The best way to make a complaint is online at www.tobaccofreemaine.org or by calling 1-800-560-5269. Complaints will be forwarded to the proper enforcement authorities.  Complaints can be filed anonymously. However, by submitting your name and contact information with your report of a violation, more effective action can be taken to enforce Maine law.  For more information, contact the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine or call 287-4627

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Resources for employees

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Other resources

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