AUGUSTA – A bill to plug loopholes exempting companies from Maine’s severance pay law was given preliminary approval Tuesday by the House of Representatives.

The bill, LD 2054, which faces further votes after Tuesday’s 88-55 tally, was submitted after electronic components manufacturer Vishay Sprague announced plans to close its Sanford plant and lay off hundreds of workers.

While most Maine companies have observed the severance law, “there are a few like Vishay Sprague that are manipulating the law to treat employees unfairly,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Tuttle Jr., D-Sanford.

Not passing the bill would send the wrong message to law-abiding Maine businesses, said House Majority Leader Patrick Colwell, D-Gardiner.

A message left with a spokesman for the parent company, Vishay Intertechnology, in Malvern, Pa., was not immediately returned Tuesday.