LEWISTON — The Sun Journal has been awarded the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s prestigious Publick Occurrences award for courage, excellence and independence in reporting.

The award, created in 1991, is named after the first newspaper published in the United States, called Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick, established in Boston on Sept. 25, 1690, and suppressed by the royal governor four days later.

The Sun Journal won this award for its series of stories and editorials, published between April 11 and May 1, about allegations that Gov. Paul LePage pressured hearing officers at the Department of Labor to decide more cases in favor of employers rather than employees, and the resulting federal investigation of these allegations.

In presenting the award, NENPA judges described the Sun Journal’s work as an “excellent example of tenacious watchdog journalism that holds the most powerful public official in Maine accountable.”

And, according to judges, “this story is investigative reporting at its best. It required strong source development, the pursuit of public records and a lot of patience. The hard work paid off. They caught the governor flat-footed, lying.”

The newspaper’s staff worked for more than a year talking to hearing officers and accessing public records through the state’s Freedom of Access Act after receiving a tip in 2011 that hearing officers had been directed to decide unemployment claims more favorably for employers instead of employees.

Last March, the Sun Journal received multiple tips that a dozen DOL employees had been required to attend a luncheon at the governor’s mansion where they were pressured directly by LePage to skew their future findings toward employers.

The Sun Journal’s report of April 11, “State labor workers say they were pressured to deny jobless benefits,” included complaints from unnamed DOL hearing officers that they felt abused, harassed and bullied by LePage’s tone and rhetoric during that luncheon, which they said they found intimidating and made them afraid they could lose their jobs if they didn’t tilt more of their appeal decisions in favor of employers.

The reaction to that story was immediate: A number of hearing officers contacted their union representatives at the Maine State Employees Association seeking job protection as whistle-blowers; a staff attorney for the MSEA called for an investigation into the governor’s actions; state lawmakers called on DOL Commissioner Jeanne Paquette to condemn the governor’s actions; and the governor established a Blue Ribbon Commission to investigate Maine’s entire unemployment compensation system.

And, David Webbert, president of the Maine Employment Lawyers Association, made a formal request to the federal DOL for a full investigation. That investigation began April 30, less than three weeks after the Sun Journal’s initial report. The investigation is ongoing.

Staff Writer Christopher Williams was the principal writer on this project.

Sun Journal Executive Editor Rex Rhoades said the DOL series “is a great example of investigative reporting. Chris Williams heard that hearing examiners felt pressured to rule in favor of employers rather than employees and spent many hours with many sources connecting all of the dots.”

Other writers were Judith Meyer, managing editor/days, and the Sun Journal’s political editor, Scott Thistle. Two editorials submitted as part of the nomination were written by Rhoades, including “Hearing officers felt governor put thumb on scales,” published April 19, and “Governor’s sources often anonymous,” published April 28.

The Sun Journal’s award was one of a dozen Publick Occurrences awards handed out to New England newspapers at the NENPA fall conference in Natick, Mass., Thursday. Other newspapers accepting the award included the Boston Globe for its “Boston Marathon Aftermath” coverage, and The Telegraph of New Hampshire for its series on prescription addition and another for its series on college debt. 

The Sun Journal was the only Maine daily to win this award.

In 2008, the Sun Journal won a Publick Occurrences award for a series of stories examining the political climate and civic breakdown in Rumford after a group of citizens cut down trees in front of the municipal building.

The newspaper also won the award in 2007 for its investigative report “How safe is your school,” after the newspaper tested the security at 37 local schools. That investigation found that 75 percent of the schools tested showed gaping holes in security.

And, in 1999, the Sun Journal won the award for its series “Bates & Beyond,” examining the viability of the Bates Mill complex after the property was relinquished to the city of Lewiston.

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