Governor Gretchen Whitmer

On March 8, 2023, the Michigan Legislature passed Senate Bill 4, amending the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), and adding protections for individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.  Codifying the Michigan Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Rouch World v MI Department of Civil Rights, which held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation constitutes a violation of ELCRA as currently written, the amendment makes Michigan the 24th state to incorporate provisions for safeguarding individuals based on sexual orientation.  The amendment, however, goes one step further to add protections for “gender identity or expression.”

Continue Reading Michigan Becomes 24th State to Protect LGBQT+ Employees Under Civil Rights Law

In the wake of the landmark decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we have been closely monitoring legal developments across the country. In addition to well publicized “trigger laws” that were effectuated as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s order, states have taken up a variety of legislative actions in response to the ruling, which placed authority for the regulation of abortion with the states.

Continue Reading Five States Put Abortion Questions on the Ballot; Health Care and Other Employers Should Stay Tuned