AUGUSTA, Maine — Governor of Maine Paul LePage is banning state workers from looking at pornography on state time or on state-owned devices.
The governor's office recently announced that he had issued an executive order to put all state workers under one clear and consistent policy. The order went into effect Feb. 5.
"State agencies already have rules to prohibit this behavior at work, but the practice continues," LePage said in a press release. "This order establishes clear rules for all departments and employees across the board."
Some people reacted less than enthusiastically to the news, including Ginette Rivard, president of the Maine State Employees Association.
Rivard told a local news channel that she was "baffled" by the news.
In the governor's press release, the director of the Bureau of Human Resources acknowledged that instances of state workers accessing pornography at work are "exceedingly rare." The governor's office has yet to provide specifics about how many state workers have been disciplined or fired for browsing porn on the job in recent years.
The executive order includes an exemption for law enforcement officials who need to access pornography as part of criminal investigations.
