A bill to require certain employers that close or relocate an establishment or engage in a mass layoff to pay severance pay to certain employees; to require certain employers to display certain information at work sites; to provide for the powers and duties of certain state governmental officers and entities; to require the promulgation of rules; to provide for civil sanctions; and to provide remedies.
The legislation mandates that certain employers who close or relocate an establishment, or engage in a mass layoff, must provide severance pay to eligible employees. The severance pay is calculated at the rate of one week's pay for each year of employment, with partial pay for any partial year, and must be paid within one regular pay period after the employee's last full day of work. The bill defines a "covered employer" as one that owns and operates a facility where at least 20 employees worked and collectively earned $2,000,000 or more in the preceding 12 months. It also specifies that eligible employees must have been employed for at least one year and not have been discharged for cause or accepted employment at another facility of the same employer.
The legislation stipulates that employers must notify the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity at least 90 days before a closure, relocation, or mass layoff, and must also inform employees and local municipal officers. Employers are required to display a poster summarizing employees' rights under this act at their work sites. The bill imposes civil fines for non-compliance, including up to $1,000 per violation for failing to pay severance and up to $5,000 for failing to display the required poster. Additionally, the bill allows employees or labor organizations to bring legal action to recover unpaid severance pay, with a statute of limitations of six years for such claims.
The legislation also amends the Michigan Employment Security Act to ensure that unemployment benefits do not reduce the severance pay an employee is entitled to receive. It requires the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to promulgate rules to implement the act within 90 days of its effective date. The act does not prevent employers from entering into agreements that provide greater severance pay than required by this legislation, and it specifies that any conflicting collective bargaining agreements will be subject to this act upon their expiration or modification.
Co-sponsored by Reps.
Referred to the Committee on Labor
