SENATE BILL No. 1175

 

 

November 8, 2018, Introduced by Senator SHIRKEY and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 2018 PA 338, entitled

 

"Earned sick time act,"

 

by amending sections 6 and 10 (MCL 408.966 and 408.970).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 6. (1) An employer or any other person shall not

 

interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt

 

to exercise, any right protected under this act.

 

     (2) An employer shall not take retaliatory personnel action or

 

discriminate against an employee because the employee has exercised

 

a right protected under this act. Rights protected by under this

 

act include, but are not limited to, the right to use earned sick

 

time pursuant to this act, the right to file a complaint or inform

 

any person about any employer's alleged violation of this act, the

 

right to cooperate with the department in its investigations of

 


alleged violations of this act, and the right to inform any person

 

of his or her rights under this act.

 

     (3) An employer's absence control policy shall not treat

 

earned sick time taken under this act as an absence that may lead

 

to or result in retaliatory personnel action.

 

     (4) The protections in this section apply to any person who

 

mistakenly but in good faith alleges a violation of this section.

 

     (5) There is a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this

 

section if an employer takes adverse personnel action against a

 

person within 90 days after that person does any of the following:

 

     (a) Files a complaint with the department or a court alleging

 

a violation of this act.

 

     (b) Informs any person about an employer’s alleged violation

 

of this act.

 

     (c) Cooperates with the department or another person in the

 

investigation or prosecution of any alleged violation of this act.

 

     (d) Opposes any policy, practice, or act that is prohibited

 

under this act.

 

     (e) Informs any person of his or her rights under this act.

 

     Sec. 10. An employer shall retain for not less than 3 years 6

 

months records documenting the hours worked and earned sick time

 

taken by employees. To monitor compliance with the requirements of

 

this act, an employer shall allow the department access to those

 

records, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time.

 

If a question arises as to whether an employer has violated an

 

employee’s right to earned sick time under this act and the

 

employer does not maintain or retain adequate records documenting


the hours worked and earned sick time taken by the employee or does

 

not allow the department reasonable access to those records, there

 

is a presumption that the employer has violated the act, which can

 

be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence.