Workforce Bulletin

As Michigan businesses begin the process of reopening, they must comply with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-91 (“Order”) regarding “Safeguards to protect Michigan’s workers from COVID-19.”  The Order includes detailed safety standards, with which employers in construction, manufacturing, retail, research labs, offices and restaurants, must comply, for the stated goal of protecting workers and customers from the novel coronavirus.

Whereas the specific safety standards required by the Order differ by industry, all businesses or operations ...

Joining California, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, as well as multiple counties and cities, on March 23, 2020, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-21 (COVID-19) (“Order”), ordering that all Michigan residents “shelter in place” in response to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), effective 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, and continuing through April 13, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.

Among other things, the Order prohibits an employer from requiring its workers to leave their homes, unless ...

During this global health emergency, many employers are facing the necessity of curtailing operations and imposing temporary layoffs or furloughs with their workforce.  As a critical consideration, employers have been asking whether and to what extent they may permit group health care coverage to continue during a period of temporary layoff or furlough.

The following questions and answers provide some general guidelines and legal issues to consider in deciding whether to extend group health coverage during a temporary layoff or furlough.

What do we mean by temporary layoffs or ...