Governor Whitmer has signed bipartisan legislation removing several of the COVID rules and regulations put in place at the height of pandemic, some of which were causing chaos, confusion and problems in workplaces across Michigan.
What’s the problem these bills sought to solve?
In October of 2020, lawmakers passed the COVID-19 Employment Rights Act, which prohibited employers from taking adverse employment action against an employee who did not report to work if s/he has COVID-19, principal symptoms or close contact and needs to isolate or quarantine. The law was passed alongside COVID-19 liability protections for businesses, which gave employers an affirmative defense if they could prove they were following “all” local, state and federal guidelines, including those issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local public health departments, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Since the COVID-19 Employment Rights Act was last amended in December 2020, the CDC has updated their guidance as it relates to isolation and quarantine protocols, but unfortunately, the law did not allow employers to fully recognize all of these changes (e.g., the law did not speak to differences in quarantine protocols based on vaccination status and did not fully align with the CDC’s current list of principal symptoms).
Because the law was not in full alignment with CDC guidance,...
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