Being a low wage earner and living in poverty do not always go hand-in-hand and understanding the challenges that may lead employees to be working, but also living in poverty, are important to help those employees to break down barriers that stand in the way of their progression out of poverty—an ultimately become more productive employees.

On this episode of HR Power Hour join host Tawny Alvarez as she talks about addressing in-work poverty with Linda Riddell, MS, an epidemiologist, specializing in poverty and social- economic status issues and founder of Gettin’ By a Maine Technology Institute grant-funded training that combines socioeconomic research with board game mechanics to change how players understand poverty and teach best practices for improving the livelihood and health outcomes for the individuals they serve.

During the course of the show they will discuss in-work poverty, who is most vulnerable to it, why employers should be cognizant of it, and steps employers can take to help employees progress out of poverty.

About The Guest:

Ms. Riddell is an epidemiologist specializing in poverty. Writing about and presenting brain science concepts has been a focal point for her work. From her years working as an epidemiologist and specializing in poverty, she created “gettin’ by”, a training program to help professionals work more effectively with low-income people. The centerpiece of the program is a game that puts the players’ brains through the same changes that happen to a person living in poverty.

In 2019, after five years of testing and development, she brought the program to national and regional conferences. She is an experienced and enthusiastic public speaker. She speaks at several events each year and gets positive reviews.

Her undergraduate degree is in English from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her master’s degree in health policy and management at the University of Southern Maine, Muskie School for Public Service. She has also completed courses at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in social epidemiology and biostatistics.

In 2023, Maine joined the growing number of states to require employers to provide employees with paid family leave.

Beginning on January 1, 2025, Maine employers will be required to begin funding the program that will ultimately take effect in 2026.

Understanding the program and how the proposed rules, issued by the Maine Department of Labor effect the application of Maine’s FMLA program is paramount for Maine organizations as they look to the future to determine how to financially and operationally comply with the state obligations.

In this episode of HR Power Hour join Tawny Alvarez, Verrill, and Peter Gore from Maine Street Solutions as they discuss the details of the proposed rules and help employers understand what these changes mean for Maine’s workforce and how they interact with existing statutory obligations.

About The Guest:

Peter Gore Bio: Peter joined Maine Street Solutions as Senior Government Relations Specialist in December 2022. Prior to joining Maine Street, Peter spent 28 years at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, initially as a Senior Governmental Affairs Specialist, and then in 2008 he was named the Executive Vice President for Advocacy and Government Relations. In his role, Gore represented more than 5,000 business members before the Maine Legislature, the Office of the Governor, and the public in the specific areas of workers’ compensation law, labor/management issues, and healthcare/health insurance and economic development topics.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Gore was the Director of the Office of Public and Legislative Affairs at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Gore received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine. He resides in Brunswick with his wife.

Tawny Alvarez Bio: Tawny prides herself on helping clients comply with the law while simultaneously creating an amazing place to work.

She centers her practice on the understanding that the employment landscape is ever-changing and organizations do not have the time or resources to keep abreast of all these changes including: how AI affects hiring and the employment relationship, pay transparency laws and the effect on equal pay and pay practices more generally; diversity, equity, and inclusion program and maintaining a diverse work environment within the confines of Title VII and state and federal anti-discrimination laws; bias at work, including its effect on the decision-making; and remote work policies and effectively managing remote workers. In this evolving landscape, Tawny recognizes that for companies to remain profitable and successful they must be proactive, not merely reactive, to these issues.

As many of these issues are swiftly evolving, Tawny prides herself on keeping current on these developments in the workplace and is skilled at crafting cost-effective solutions for adapting to them. She sensibly recognizes that one-size representation does not fit all, and focuses her practice on providing creative, cost-effective, and individualized labor and employment counseling and representation to clients while maintaining the culture that they have worked so hard to construct.