Bill Text: MI SB0243 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Labor; fair employment practices; employer mandate for employee to work 7 days a week; prohibit. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-26 - Referred To Committee On Commerce [SB0243 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2015-SB0243-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL No. 243
March 26, 2015, Introduced by Senators HOPGOOD, GREGORY, HERTEL, BIEDA, YOUNG, WARREN, JOHNSON and HOOD and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
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
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 the employee's
workweek, an employer shall post in a conspicuous place on the
premises or otherwise inform each employee in writing of the
employee's designated day of rest. An employee shall not be
required 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 shall 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 a
person, 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 shall, 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 any person for
exercising rights under this act. In any 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, a person 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 an administrative 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). A permit shall not be granted 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.
