Michigan’s Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) launched a new program focused on supporting Michigan businesses to reopen safely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program is called the MIOSHA Ambassador Program. It offers education and one-on-one guidance to help businesses understand regulations on workplace
One Big Thing in Michigan COVID-19 News:On August 21, 2020, U.S. Federal Court Judge Paul Maloney of the Western District Court for Michigan issued an order denying a motion for a preliminary injunction over the State of Michigan’s testing requirements for agricultural and food processing workers.
This was a preliminary order for
The AFL-CIO sued to require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from the novel coronavirus.
To date, OSHA has refused calls from lawmakers and Union leaders to issue a temporary emergency standard in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
If successful, all
May 7, 2020, marks the re-opening in Michigan of the construction industry and other business segments from a broad stay-in-place order. Specifically, Governor Whitmer has begun to relax her prior stay-in-place order, allowing the resumption of some types of work.
Such work is expected to present a lower risk of infection and spread as Michigan
A Michigan woman sued her former employer for allegedly violating the Governor’s Executive Stay Home, Stay Safe” orders. This suit was filed in Michigan Circuit court on April 15, 2020. The former employee also filed a claim of retaliation with the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA).
Michigan, like most states
On April 9, 2020, Michigan Governor Whitmer, extended the State’s March 23, 2020 “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order. It was set to expire on April 13, 2020, but it will now extend through April 30 and goes into effect tonight at 11:59 PM.
Consistent with the prior order, the
Today (3/23/2020), Michigan’s Governor issued an executive order (No. 2020-21) for the temporary suspension of activities in Michigan not deemed “necessary to sustain or protect life.” This order goes into effect on March 24, 2020, at 12:00 AM and continues until April 13, 2020, at 11:59 PM. A full copy is available here.
The
Michigan first reported two confirmed cases of coronavirus on March 10, 2020. One week later, that number has jumped to 54. The State plans to update its confirmed cases daily at 2 PM at its coronavirus website. This website is a great resource.
On March 16, 2020, Gov. Whitmore signed an executive order
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced guidance on March 12, 2020, for how States can pay unemployment insurance benefits to employees who miss work because of the coronavirus. Here is the DOL’s COVID-19 Bulletin.
The Federal DOL generally oversees unemployment insurance benefits systems. But States actually handle applications and payments. In so doing, States
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan announced on March 11, 2020, visitor restrictions for entering its five courthouses to prevent the spread of the virus.
The full restrictions are available here. These restrictions were issued in response to Governor Whitmer’s State of Emergency, which we discussed here.
In sum,