SB 301 establishes a corporate income tax credit for employers who offer paid leave to employees donating organs. Beginning in 2026, eligible employers can claim a credit equal to 100% of the wages paid to an employee during up to 12 weeks of organ donation leave. To qualify, this leave must be separate from other paid leave benefits and compensate the employee at their full normal wage. The credit is non-refundable but can be carried forward for up to three years to offset future tax liabilities.
SB 49 amends Michigan's Occupational Safety and Health Act to update key definitions and clarify enforcement responsibilities. It revises terms like "asbestos," "authorized employee representative," and "construction operations," while specifying that the Department of Labor handles safety enforcement and the Department of Public Health manages health enforcement. The bill requires these departments to annually report to legislative committees on overlapping authority and coordination efforts. This affects Michigan employers and workers, particularly in construction, agriculture, and asbestos-related industries, by updating how safety and health rules are defined and implemented.
SB 807 creates the Michigan Secure Retirement Savings Program, requiring certain employers without existing retirement plans to automatically enroll eligible employees (ages 18+ with Michigan wages) in a payroll-deducted retirement savings plan. The program establishes a separate trust fund outside the state treasury for individual retirement accounts, meeting federal IRA standards, while employers must set up payroll deductions for participation. It also creates an administrative fund to cover program costs, funded by state allocations, grants, and other sources. The law mandates automatic enrollment (with opt-out options) for employees at qualifying employers, aiming to provide low-cost, portable retirement savings for workers who lack access to employer-sponsored plans.
Senate Bill 310 establishes the tri-share child care program within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, continuing a previous pilot project. It also creates a dedicated tri-share child care fund in the state treasury to support this program. The department will administer this fund, using appropriated money to oversee the program and provide funding to existing child care facilitator hubs. New hubs may also be funded if sufficient resources are available to expand coverage to more counties or serve statewide employers. This aims to support child care access for families and providers.
SB 145 prohibits Michigan employers from asking job applicants about their past wages, credit scores, or credit history during the hiring process. This directly affects job seekers by preventing employers from using this information to make hiring or compensation decisions. The bill amends Michigan's Fair Employment Practices law to explicitly ban employers from requesting or seeking such details, replacing a prior prohibition on wage history inquiries. It aims to reduce pay discrimination by ensuring compensation decisions are based on current job requirements, not past earnings or credit data. The law would apply to all employers covered under Michigan's wage and employment protections.
Senate Bill 297 aims to protect registered professional nurses by ensuring their refusal to work beyond their predetermined schedule is not grounds for administrative action. It also establishes penalties for hospitals that violate rules related to mandatory overtime for nurses, as referenced in section 21526. Hospitals found in violation could face an administrative fine of $1,000 for each instance, along with other potential sanctions. This bill amends the Public Health Code to implement these provisions, directly affecting nurses and hospitals.
Senate Bill 296 prohibits hospitals from requiring registered professional nurses to work beyond their regularly scheduled, on-call, or voluntarily agreed-upon hours. It mandates that nurses working 12 or more consecutive hours receive 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time immediately afterward. Exceptions to this prohibition include declared states of emergency, mass casualty incidents, certain patient-care procedures, and situations where an oncoming nurse is unexpectedly absent. The bill also protects nurses from retaliation if they refuse work assignments that exceed these limits and requires hospitals to post notices informing nurses of these provisions.
SB 443 requires Michigan health facilities performing specific surgical procedures to implement policies mandating the use of surgical smoke plume evacuation systems. It directly affects hospitals and clinics conducting procedures involving heat-producing equipment (like electrosurgery, lasers, or other heated instruments), which generate harmful smoke containing vapor, gas, or particles. The bill mandates that facilities develop and enforce policies ensuring evacuation systems capture and neutralize the smoke at the surgical site before it can contact staff or patients' eyes or airways. This creates a concrete safety requirement to protect healthcare workers and patients from exposure to potentially hazardous surgical smoke.
SB 54 amends Michigan's prevailing wage law (MCL 408.1109) to exempt certain state projects funded by school bonds from prevailing wage requirements. It specifically applies to projects paid for by millage, bond, or bond proposal revenue authorized under the Revised School Code (1976 PA 451) before February 13, 2024. The bill removes the requirement for contractors on these pre-existing school bond-funded projects to pay prevailing wages or fringe benefits. This change directly affects construction workers and contractors working on school infrastructure projects financed through bonds approved prior to the law's effective date.
SB 319 amends Michigan's public employee collective bargaining law to require that minimum staffing levels within a bargaining unit become a mandatory topic for negotiation between public employers and employee representatives. This applies specifically to public employees covered under 1969 PA 312 (which includes most state and local government workers like teachers, nurses, and first responders), making staffing levels a required subject of bargaining alongside wages and hours. The bill includes a limited exception: if a public employer faces reduced state funding or property tax revenue, it may choose whether to negotiate staffing levels, but must otherwise include them in bargaining. The change directly affects public sector workplaces where employee bargaining units exist, ensuring staffing levels cannot be unilaterally set by employers without negotiation.
