Saturday, March 7, 2015 @10am
Our Guest:
Jeanne Paquette
Commissioner
Maine Dept. of Labor
Maine Dept. of Labor Update –
Jeanne Shorey Paquette of North Yarmouth was sworn in as Commissioner of Labor by Governor Paul R. LePage on September 7, 2012. Paquette served as Deputy Commissioner from July 2011 until her confirmation as Commissioner.
Commissioner Paquette has focused her career on “finding good people good jobs.” She brings her previous experiences as a business owner and a human resources professional to her role in the Department of Labor, with particular concern for how the department interacts with both employees and employers.
Under Commissioner Paquette’s leadership, the Department has implemented several reforms aimed at improving customer service, educating citizens and employers about the resources available through the Department, and improving efficiency of operations. A major focus has been on improving the effectiveness of the workforce development system through interagency collaboration. She has led the department in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and Education on implementing welfare-to-work initiatives. She has also implemented the unemployment system reforms generated from the reports of the Unemployment System Blue Ribbon Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor. She also works closely with the Department of Economic and Community Development to meet the needs of Maine’s employers.
With more than 20 years’ experience in human resources management, Commissioner Paquette specialized in both training and management development. She first began her career in HR while living in San Diego. After returning to Maine, she held the position of vice president, human resources at Androscoggin Bank based in Lewiston, Maine, and served as the director of human resources at Creative Work Systems, a non-profit serving people with disabilities. Her background in human resources led her to found an industry-related media business in 1999, which published the Employment Times, HR Times and MyJobWave.com and later merged with Sun Media Group.
Commissioner Paquette is a past member of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Maine Jobs Council and several non-profit boards.
In June 2012, she was inducted into the Society for Human Resource Management Maine State Council’s HR Hall of Fame, which honors individuals who helped set the stage or evolve the human resources profession in Maine. She holds an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Dean College, in Franklin, Mass., and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Kean University in Union, New Jersey.
