Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed COVID-19-related bills into law today. They add protections for employers from COVID-19-related lawsuits and for employees from being fired for refusing to work when they’re sick.
Businesses would have stronger immunity if they follow safety precautions. Plaintiffs would have to prove gross negligence and show specific injuries – such as hospitalization for COVID-19.
But employees could not be fired for refusing to show up for work when they’re sick.
These new laws are the product of bipartisan negotiations. And the signings happened as a large group of businesses, labor groups, health care providers and others released an open letter asking the Democratic governor and the Legislature’s Republican leaders to end court battles over the state’s COVID-19 response and develop a consensus plan to meet challenges created by the coronavirus crisis.
