The Michigan Supreme Court, in a divided opinion, recently invalidated  Michigan’s Emergency Powers of Governor Act of 1945, MCL 10.31 et seq. This was the statute under which Governor Whitmer issued a number of COVID-19 executive orders. Those orders, therefore, will now be void by the end of October. The case is Midwest Inst of Health, PLLC v Governor of Michigan (In re Certified Questions from the United States Dist Court), _ Mich __, __…

A Michigan based company was recently sued for allegedly firing its assistant manager after contracting the COVID-19 virus. The suit claims this firing violated the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and Michigan Executive Order 2020-36. Why It Matters: Two things stand out about this lawsuit. First, you have an employer who appears to have gone to significant lengths to protect customers and staff from…

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 safety. Why it Matters: Whenever a state or federal government announces programs to assist companies, I’m reminded of Ronald Reagan’s …

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. What’s Next:  This was a preliminary order for injunctive relief. So the lawsuit (Castillo v Whitmer, Case No. 1:20-cv-751) will theoretically continue. But as explained below, the Judge…

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 continues to deal with high numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. The most recent data shows Michigan has over 45,000…