Bill Text: MI SB0824 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Labor; fair employment practices; employer mandate that employee work 7 days a week; prohibit for certain employees. Creates new act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-15 - Referred To Committee On Government Operations [SB0824 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-SB0824-Introduced.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE BILL No. 824

 

 

February 15, 2018, Introduced by Senators HOPGOOD, GREGORY, YOUNG, CONYERS and ANANICH and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

 

     A bill to require employers to allow a day of rest for

 

employees each week; to require employers to allow a meal break

 

during certain work periods; to provide for exceptions and

 

exemptions; to provide powers and duties of certain state officers

 

and departments; to authorize rule promulgation; and to provide for

 

civil sanctions and remedies.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"day of rest act".

 

     (2) As used in this act, "employer" means a person,

 

partnership, joint stock company, or corporation that employs any

 

individual to work, labor, or exercise skill in connection with the

 

operation of any business, industry, vocation, or occupation.

 

     Sec. 2. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, an

 


employer shall allow an employee at least 24 consecutive hours of

 

rest in every calendar week in addition to the regular period of

 

rest allowed at the close of each working day.

 

     (2) Before the end of the first day of an employee's workweek,

 

an employer shall post in a conspicuous place on the premises or

 

otherwise inform the employee in writing of the employee's

 

designated day of rest. An employer shall not require an employee

 

to work on his or her designated day of rest.

 

     (3) An employer shall keep a record of the name and address of

 

each employee and the hours worked by each employee on each day.

 

The record must be open to inspection at all reasonable hours by

 

the director of the department of licensing and regulatory affairs

 

for purposes of enforcing this act.

 

     (4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply to any of the

 

following:

 

     (a) A part-time employee who works fewer than 20 total work

 

hours for the employer during a calendar week.

 

     (b) An employee when needed because of a machinery or

 

equipment breakdown or other emergency requiring the immediate

 

services of experienced and competent labor to prevent injury to an

 

individual, damage to property, or suspension of necessary

 

operation.

 

     (c) An employee employed in agriculture or coal mining.

 

     (d) An employee engaged in the occupation of canning and

 

processing perishable agricultural products, if the employee is

 

employed on a seasonal basis for not more than 20 weeks during any

 

12-month period.


     (e) An employee employed as a watchman or security guard.

 

     (f) An employee who is employed in a bona fide executive,

 

administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of an

 

outside salesman, as described in section 13(a)(1) of the federal

 

fair labor standards act, 29 USC 213(a)(1), or as a supervisor as

 

defined in section 2(11) of the national labor relations act, 29

 

USC 152(11).

 

     (g) An employee who is employed as a crew member of any

 

uninspected towing vessel, as defined by 46 USC 2101(40), operating

 

in any navigable waters in or along the boundaries of this state.

 

     (h) An employee for whom hours of work are established through

 

the collective bargaining process.

 

     Sec. 3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an

 

employer shall permit an employee who works or is scheduled to work

 

for 7-1/2 continuous hours or longer at least 20 minutes for a meal

 

period beginning no later than 5 hours after the start of the work

 

period.

 

     (2) This section does not apply to any of the following:

 

     (a) An employee for whom meal periods are established through

 

the collective bargaining process.

 

     (b) An employee who in the course of his or her duty to

 

monitor an individual with a developmental disability or mental

 

illness is required to be on call during an entire 8-hour work

 

period. The employee must, however, be allowed to eat a meal during

 

the 8-hour work period while continuing to monitor the individual.

 

     Sec. 4. (1) An employer or an employer's agent or

 

representative shall not retaliate against an individual for


exercising rights under this act. In a civil proceeding brought to

 

enforce this act, if the plaintiff establishes that he or she was

 

employed by the defendant and exercised rights under this act or

 

alleged in good faith that the defendant was not complying with

 

this act, and the plaintiff was subsequently terminated, demoted,

 

or otherwise penalized by the defendant, a rebuttable presumption

 

arises that the defendant's action was taken in retaliation for the

 

exercise of rights established by this act. To rebut the

 

presumption, the defendant must establish that the sole reason for

 

the termination, demotion, or penalty was a legitimate business

 

reason.

 

     (2) In addition to the enforcement provided under sections 5

 

and 6, an individual claiming violation of this act may obtain

 

legal or equitable remedies, including, but not limited to,

 

damages, back pay, reinstatement, or injunctive relief. The court

 

shall award an individual terminated in violation of this section

 

all of the following:

 

     (a) Treble his or her lost normal daily compensation and

 

fringe benefits with interest.

 

     (b) Any consequential damages.

 

     (c) Reasonable attorney fees and costs.

 

     Sec. 5. The department of licensing and regulatory affairs

 

shall enforce and prosecute all violations of this act. The

 

department of licensing and regulatory affairs may promulgate

 

reasonable rules pursuant to the administrative procedures act of

 

1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, to aid in administering

 

and enforcing this act. A violation of such a rule is considered a


violation of this act.

 

     Sec. 6. An employer who violates this act is subject to an

 

administrative fine of not less than $25.00 or more than $100.00

 

for each offense.

 

     Sec. 7. The director of the department of licensing and

 

regulatory affairs may grant a permit authorizing an exemption from

 

section 2(1) and (2). The director of the department of licensing

 

and regulatory affairs shall not grant a permit to exempt the

 

employment of individuals for 7 days a week for more than 8 weeks

 

in any 1 year, unless the director of the department of licensing

 

and regulatory affairs finds that the necessity for the employment

 

on a designated day of rest cannot be remedied by increasing the

 

number of employees or by adjusting production schedules. The

 

director of the department of licensing and regulatory affairs

 

shall give due consideration to business necessity and economic

 

viability in granting the permit.

 

     Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the

 

date it is enacted into law.

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