2023年8月2日更新
There are several pieces of proposed legislation that, 如果制定, will be harmful to Michigan’s small businesses.
House Bill 4390 – Independent Contractor Limitations
In perhaps to most damaging bill in recent memory to small businesses, this legislation would limit the use of independent contractors (most are small businesses) to the following narrow circumstances:
- The individual is free from control and direction of the payer in connection with the performance of the work, both under a contract and in fact.
- The individual performs work that is outside the usual course of the payer’s business.
- The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, 占领, or business of the same work performed by the individual for the payer.
This legislation would harm small businesses in two main, over-arching ways:
第一个, 作为独立承包商经营的小企业在受到限制的情况下可以从其他企业获得的业务类型将受到严格限制. Their customers could not use independent contractors unless the work is outside the “usual course” of the payer’s business. 此外, 独立承建商的工作“不受付款人就其工作的履行的指示”是不可行的.” This broad language would go way beyond current standards that speak to the times when work is completed.
第二个, this legislation would severely restrict when a small business could use independent contractors to grow. Smaller enterprises do not often grow in full-time employee increments. Fractional services from independent contractors are an essential part of the small business ecosystem.
Additional troubling aspects of this legislation include the following:
- 它明确指出，被指控违反这项立法的限制的人有责任证明他们是无辜的.
- Violations of this act carry a $10,000年处罚, half of which is awarded to the person who makes the accusation.
参议院法案332 & 333 – Mandatory Paid Leave Benefit (MI FLOC)
参议院法案332 and 333, known as the Michigan Family Leave Optimal Coverage Act (MI FLOC), would establish a new mandatory paid leave benefit through an insurance program co-funded by employers and employees. All employers employing 1 or more employees would be required to pay into this program, 以及所有员工, 包括 part-time employees, would be covered under benefits.
This bill would allow employees to take up to 15 weeks of paid leave per benefit year for various reasons, mostly coinciding with those covered under the federal Family Medical Leave Act. Employees taking advantage of this leave time can do so without exhausting their own PTO, 病假, 或者休假时间. This bill would not apply to employers who offer equivalent or superior paid leave programs to their employees.
In addition to eligible medical needs, 如果工作场所因突发公共卫生事件而关闭，雇员有资格享受最多15周的带薪休假. Had this been law in 2020, any worker who was unable to work due to COVID-19 shutdowns would have been eligible for this paid leave benefit.
While many small business owners choose to offer paid leave benefits to their employees, forcing a one-size-fits-all policy on every business will harm small businesses. MI-FLOC将代表另一项昂贵的福利计划，在该计划中，企业所有者预计将在没有任何投入或监督福利水平或成本管理的情况下买单. This program makes it more costly to hire part-time employees and will reduce take-home wages for all employees.
SBAM最近的成员 调查结果 show over 80% of small businesses oppose this mandate. SBAM加入了一个 coalition to unite against workplace mandates.
SB 40 – Extension of Unemployment Benefits
This legislation extends unemployment benefits to 26 weeks from 20 weeks. 鉴于密歇根州的劳动力人数仍落后于大流行前的水平，这一提议的背景令人不安, the labor force participation rates in our state is among the lowest in the United States, and there are 10 open positions for every 7 people looking for a job.
众议院法案4759号-4761 – Carbon Free by 2035
众议院法案4759号, 4760, 4761号法案将建立新的能源法规，并要求密歇根州到2035年100%使用无碳能源.
For business to flourish, energy must be affordable and reliable. 这些充满希望但不切实际的最后期限依赖于尚未发明的技术，几乎肯定会导致更高的成本和更低的可靠性. Sustainable energy and a clean environment are important to the future of business in Michigan, but timelines and regulations must be realistic and affordable if Michigan small businesses are to be competitive. 密歇根州的主要公用事业公司已经承诺在未来几年内实现碳中和，这是一个基于现有能力的可实现目标. 在现有技术条件下，到2035年强制要求密歇根州的能源完全来自可再生能源是不可能的, unless there are significant compromises in cost and reliability.
A diverse mix of energy sources is required for an optimal combination of affordability and reliability, and a major part of that diverse mix is the presence of natural gas, which would be phased out by 2035 under this legislation. Natural gas is a clean and locally sourced form of energy compared to other fossil fuels, and it allows utilities to increase their renewable portfolio while utilizing natural gas as a reliable backup the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing. 仅仅依靠这些可再生能源将无法提供企业家们赖以保持业务顺利运行的可靠性.
House Bill 4035 – “Predictive Scheduling”
Legislation that would require retail, 热情好客, and food service establishments with 100 or more employees to provide a schedule 14 days in advance, 包括 on-call shifts. The structure of this bill limits “at-will” employment options with respect to scheduling issues. The businesses impacted are defined as:
“Employer” means a person, 包括, 但不限于, a chain or integrated enterprise, that employs 100 or more individuals worldwide and is a retail establishment, 热情好客 establishment, or a food services establishment.
根据这项建议, employers would create a voluntary list of employees willing to work additional hours. 对其他人来说, if an employer deviates from the schedule without a 14-day notice, employers must provide for the following anytime an “employer initiated” change is made to the work schedule:
- 员工可以拒绝任何未列入员工书面工作时间表的工作班次，雇主不得因员工缺勤而采取任何纪律处分或报复行动.
- Time and a half pay requirements for work shifts included in “rest periods” created by the legislation, which dictate pay practices when shifts are too close together, 包括 “on call” shifts.
- Employers must provide 1 hour of pay for every 30 minutes added to a shift (in other words, double the rate of pay), 包括 when a shift is changed – even without a loss or addition to the total number of hours.
- In cases where fewer hours are needed from the employee than what were originally scheduled, employers must pay the employee for the original hours scheduled for any time that hours are subtracted from a shift, 轮班被取消了, the start or end time is changed, and even if an “on call” shift is changed.
House Bill 4406 – Amendment to the “Michigan Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act”
该法案将要求任何拥有一名或多名雇员的雇主为处境类似的雇员提供长达三年的工资信息. “处境相似的雇员”是指“与要求提供信息的雇员处于同一工作类别或其职责在技能上具有可比性的雇员”, 努力, 责任, 工作条件, and training to those of the requesting employee.”
进一步, 该法案将禁止雇员签署任何限制或拒绝雇员披露工资或禁止解雇的弃权书或其他文件作为雇佣条件, 纪律, or any type of discrimination against those who disclose such information.
Senate Bill 142 – Amendment to the 1978 “Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act”
该法案要求在日历年的任何时间拥有超过5名员工的任何企业保留业务中每个职位的职位描述，包括以下内容:
- Essential duties and responsibilities
- Skills, training, and 努力 required to do the job Salary
此外, 该法案禁止雇主在没有现任雇员审查并在修改后的职位描述上签名的情况下更改职位描述.
House Bill 4237 – Employment Uncertainty Act
众议院第4237号法案将废除《玛雅吧官网》，并允许密歇根州1800多个地方政府单位制定自己的法规，管理雇主与雇员的关系. 现行法律规定了州一级的就业政策，并在整个密歇根州为最低工资提供了一致的监管环境, 病假, 安全, and other labor requirements. 这项法律将为地方政府在这些领域制定自己的法律打开大门，并将小企业主置于一个复杂的不同法规网络中，这取决于他们所属的市政当局.
Small businesses benefit greatly from regulatory certainty and consistency, and this bill would introduce a substantial hurdle to those seeking to do business in the state of Michigan.
- For small business owners, who seldom have the time or resources to closely track the ever-changing whims of local officials, this bill would destabilize and complicate the environment in which they do business.
- For owners operating multiple locations in different municipalities, this bill would require them to remain complaint with a patchwork of different regulations depending on location.
- 目前尚不清楚这项拟议的立法将如何适用于那些远程工作或在不同城市的不同地点工作的人.
此外, passage of this bill would make some areas in our state “high-cost islands” where it is harder for small businesses to flourish. Small businesses operating on tight margins are those most impacted by mandatory increases in wage and benefit requirements. SBAM认为，关于可接受的工资和福利选择的对话是雇主和雇员之间最合适的对话，而这项法案为这种对话增加了另一种声音. 另外, 许多小企业主在选择做生意的地方时没有机会比较不同的地点，他们在自己和家人居住的地方经营. Allowing municipalities to set laws in these areas would make small businesses less competitive in their own communities.
House Bill 4034 – “Temporary Laborer Rights Act”
This proposed law creates dozens of new reporting requirements, 限制, and record keeping rules for businesses operating as temporary employment agencies, which have the potential to severely hamper temporary labor service agencies. 许多小企业经常利用临时劳务机构来填补临时职位或填补他们难以填补的职位. In a time when businesses are struggling to fill vacancies, further restricting the staffing options available to small businesses is not good policy. 该法案还要求使用临时工的企业在每天下班时提供“工作验证表”，否则将被罚款.
另外, the act limits placements in what temporary employment agencies can fill:
“A temporary labor service agency shall not provide a temporary laborer to a job site where a strike, 停摆, or other labor dispute exists.”
House Bill 4537 – A Ban on Noncompete Agreements
这项拟议的立法修订了“密歇根州反托拉斯改革法”，禁止雇主与雇员签订竞业禁止协议. Noncompete agreements are vital tools used by some small businesses to protect intellectual property, 客户关系, 商业机密. 该法案的通过将使小企业更容易受到大公司的攻击，大公司拥有更多的资源，从小企业手中夺走知识产权和客户关系.