Labor & Employment

in committee · Michigan · House Dec 9, 2025

HB 5336: Retirement: other; retirement program for certain nonpublic employees to participate in a benefit plan; create, and provide oversight. Creates new act. TIE BAR WITH: HB 5335'25

HB 5336 establishes Michigan's Secure Retirement Savings Program, creating a state-administered retirement plan for private-sector employees whose employers don't currently offer retirement benefits. It requires qualifying employers (those without a 401(k) or similar plan for two years) to automatically enroll employees in payroll-deducted retirement savings accounts, with contributions deposited into a separate trust fund outside the state treasury. The program emphasizes portability, allowing employees to roll funds into other retirement accounts, and mandates low-cost investment options managed by a state board. It directly affects private-sector workers at small businesses or nonprofits without existing retirement plans, providing a new savings pathway without state financial risk.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates automatic enrollment in retirement savings for private employees without employer plans, expanding worker benefits and financial security through a state-administered program.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Retirement Benefits

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in committee · Michigan · House Dec 18, 2025

HB 5391: Employment security: benefits; recovery of an improperly paid unemployment benefit more than 1 year after payment; prohibit. Amends sec. 62 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.62).

HB 5391 changes Michigan's unemployment benefits recovery rules by limiting the time the state can seek repayment of improperly paid benefits. It prohibits the unemployment agency from recovering benefits more than one year after the claimant receives the payment, affecting most unemployed Michiganders who received benefits by mistake. Exceptions include cases involving suspected identity fraud (where recovery may still be pursued) or intentional fraud (where no time limit applies). The bill also maintains existing hardship waiver options for repayment if recovery would be unfair due to financial hardship or administrative errors.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentLimits state recovery of mistakenly paid unemployment benefits after 1 year, protecting most claimants from repayment demands, except fraud cases.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Unemployment

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in committee · Michigan · House Dec 17, 2025

HB 5375: Employment security: administration; assessment of penalties, interest, or fees on certain unpaid restitution of benefit overpayments; prohibit. Amends sec. 15 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.15).

HB 5375 prohibits charging interest on unpaid restitution of overpaid unemployment benefits when the overpayment resulted from specific errors, such as agency mistakes, employer errors, or system issues - not the claimant's fault. It requires the unemployment agency to waive existing interest charges and refund payments made for those errors, with refunds due within 180 days of the law's effective date. The bill also stops interest from accruing during pending appeals and applies retroactively to overpayments from February 2020 through December 2026. This directly affects claimants who received overpayments due to errors beyond their control.

Topics ✗ Budget & TaxesOpposes Budget & TaxesProhibits interest charges on overpaid benefits, reducing state revenue from penalties and fees, directly weakening fiscal management of unemployment funds.85% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentPrevents unfair financial penalties on workers for unemployment overpayments caused by agency/employer errors, requiring refunds and waiving interest charges.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Labor Standards Unemployment

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in committee · Michigan · House Dec 18, 2025

HB 5394: Employment security: benefits; certain improperly paid benefits; require waiver of recovery as an administrative or clerical error. Amends sec. 62 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.62).

HB 5394 requires Michigan's unemployment insurance agency to automatically waive repayment of benefits improperly paid due to the agency's own administrative or clerical errors, rather than requiring claimants to seek a waiver through a separate process. This applies specifically when overpayments result from the agency's mistakes (e.g., data entry errors), excluding cases involving fraud, identity theft, or intentional misrepresentation by claimants. The bill ensures claimants affected by such agency errors do not face repayment demands or interest, streamlining relief for those who received benefits due to the state's administrative errors. It does not change eligibility rules or apply to overpayments caused by claimant error or fraud.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentAutomatically waives repayment for agency errors, protecting claimants from unnecessary repayment burdens and ensuring timely access to unemployment benefits.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Unemployment

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in committee · Michigan · House Nov 4, 2025

HB 5191: Worker's compensation: funds; uninsured employer's security fund; modify. Amends sec. 501 of 1969 PA 317 (MCL 418.501) & adds sec. 536.

HB 5191 modifies Michigan's worker's compensation law to strengthen the Uninsured Employer's Security Fund. The fund will pay benefits to workers injured by uninsured employers, effective from the bill's implementation date. It can later seek reimbursement from those employers for up to three times the benefits paid plus administrative costs, and impose fines of up to $10,000 for failing to provide required business records. This directly affects injured workers and uninsured employers who must repay the fund.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentStrengthens worker compensation fund to ensure injured workers receive benefits from uninsured employers, with enforcement mechanisms for reimbursement and fines.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

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passed · Michigan · Senate Nov 13, 2025

SB 443: Health facilities: other; surgical smoke plume evacuation plan; require. Amends 1978 PA 368 (MCL 333.1101 - 333.25211) by adding sec. 20187.

SB 443 requires Michigan health facilities performing specific surgical procedures to implement policies mandating the use of surgical smoke plume evacuation systems. It directly affects hospitals and clinics conducting procedures involving heat-producing equipment (like electrosurgery, lasers, or other heated instruments), which generate harmful smoke containing vapor, gas, or particles. The bill mandates that facilities develop and enforce policies ensuring evacuation systems capture and neutralize the smoke at the surgical site before it can contact staff or patients' eyes or airways. This creates a concrete safety requirement to protect healthcare workers and patients from exposure to potentially hazardous surgical smoke.

Topics ✓ EnvironmentSupports EnvironmentMandates evacuation of surgical smoke (containing harmful particles/gases), reducing airborne pollutants in healthcare settings, aligning with pollution control under environmental protection.85% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates surgical smoke evacuation systems to protect patients/staff from harmful emissions during procedures, advancing health facility safety standards.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates surgical smoke evacuation systems to protect healthcare workers from hazardous smoke exposure, directly improving workplace safety for medical staff.95% confidence

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in committee · Michigan · House Nov 5, 2025

HB 5200: Insurance: health benefits; pap smears; require to be covered in certain cases. Amends 1956 PA 218 (MCL 500.100 - 500.8302) by adding sec. 3406nn.

HB 5200 requires health insurance plans in Michigan that cover gynecological care to include annual pap smear screenings for women aged 21 or older, with coverage mandated every three calendar years. This applies to all health insurance policies delivered, issued, or renewed in Michigan that provide gynecological coverage, directly affecting women 21+ and insurers offering such plans. The bill eliminates cost-sharing requirements (like copays, deductibles, or coinsurance) for these screenings, ensuring full coverage without out-of-pocket costs. It amends Michigan’s Insurance Code (MCL 500.3406nn) to standardize this preventive care requirement. The bill is currently pending in the House Committee on Insurance after introduction on November 4, 2025.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates insurance coverage for pap smears without cost-sharing, expanding access to preventive care for women 21+ and protecting patient rights to affordable screenings.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates no-cost pap smears in health insurance, expanding worker health benefits under employment standards as part of coverage requirements for employer-sponsored plans.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Primary Care

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in committee · Michigan · House Nov 4, 2025

HB 5184: Worker's compensation: benefits; deadline to pay compensation benefits; modify to 14 days after compensation becomes due and payable, and modify daily charge and interest amounts for noncompliance. Amends sec. 801 of 1969 PA 317 (MCL 418.801).

HB 5184 shortens the deadline for employers and insurers to pay worker's compensation benefits from 30 days to 14 days after benefits become due. It also increases the daily penalty for late payments from $50 to $100 per day (capped at $25,000 total), applies to both wage benefits and medical/travel costs, and requires interest on delayed payments at 10% annually. This directly affects workers receiving compensation and employers/carriers responsible for timely payments. The bill aims to accelerate benefit delivery and strengthen penalties for noncompliance under Michigan's Worker's Disability Compensation Act.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentShortens payment deadline to 14 days and increases penalties for late payments, directly strengthening worker compensation protections and timely benefit access.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

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in committee · Michigan · House Dec 16, 2025

HB 5256: Individual income tax: deductions; deduction for certain physical facility services; provide for. Amends sec. 30 of 1967 PA 281 (MCL 206.30).

HB 5256 amends Michigan's income tax code to adjust deductions for retirement and pension benefits. It expands the deduction for benefits received from public retirement systems (including federal, Michigan, or other states' systems with reciprocal treatment) and updates the annual cap for non-federal retirement benefits to $42,240 for single filers and $84,480 for joint filers. The bill also requires annual adjustments to these caps based on the Consumer Price Index. This directly affects Michigan taxpayers claiming these specific retirement deductions when calculating taxable income.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesExpands tax deductions for retirement benefits, reducing taxable income for filers, aligning with tax relief for middle-income earners.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentExpands tax deductions for retirement benefits, enhancing financial security for workers post-employment, aligning with 'expands worker benefits' indicator.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Pensions Retirement Benefits

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passed · Michigan · House Jun 25, 2026

HB 5255: Civil procedure: foreclosure; foreclosure or garnishment of wages for medical debt; prohibit. Creates new act. TIE BAR WITH: HB 5254'25

HB 5255, the "Medical Debt Protection Act," limits how medical debt can be collected in Michigan, directly affecting patients with medical debt and large healthcare providers (with $20 million+ annual revenue) or medical debt buyers. It prohibits charging interest or late fees for 90 days after a bill is due and caps annual interest at 3% on medical debt. The bill bans aggressive collection tactics like wage garnishment for patients qualifying for financial assistance under a healthcare facility's policy, and requires medical debt buyers to follow strict rules, including not using prohibited collection actions and returning debt if a patient qualifies for financial aid.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareProtects patients from aggressive medical debt collection, caps interest, and bans wage garnishment for eligible patients, advancing patient financial rights in healthcare.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBans wage garnishment for medical debt, protecting workers' earnings from seizure and preventing income reduction for qualifying patients.95% confidence

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