Michigan Senate, House files brief opposing OSHA rules
(The Center Square) – The GOP-led Michigan House and Senate filed an amicus brief Thursday in opposition to the Biden administration’s new COVID-19 Occupational Safety Health Administration rules.
Michigan Occupational Safety Health Administration (MIOSHA) Director Bart Pickelman told The Center Square in an email that starting Nov. 5, federal OSHA issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. An ETS summary is here.
MIOSHA has 30 days from the effective date to implement a standard. Pickelman said MIOSHA must be at least as stringent as the federal OSHA standard but has no intention of going beyond that. The goal is to adopt the identical rules and requirements contained within the federal OSHA ETS.
“Michigan employers with 100 or more employees should be prepared to implement the standard’s requirements as outlined in the ETS,” Pickelman wrote.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said the mandate is “the fastest way to make a bad situation worse. The comply-or-leave overtone of the new OSHA rules can only really do one thing, which is exacerbate a labor shortage crisis.”
Companies ranging from law enforcement to fast food to health care are facing a worker shortage. The brief says the Legislature is concerned about being left out of the rule-making process.
“But an emergency temporary standard like the one at issue here excludes them entirely from the process, leaving Michigan’s primary policy-making branch to the whim of an unelected federal executive official,” the suit says.
A one-time violation can bring fines up to $13,654 but a “willful” violation fine can balloon to $136,532 per violation.
“Furthermore, this mandate pummels the small-to midsize- family businesses that managed to survive COVID and fuel our economy,” Shirkey said in a statement. “They are just recovering. They don’t have the resources to build out the infrastructure this mandate requires – not on top of every other economic headwind they face. This mandate cannot continue. It is the death knell of the American Dream.”
Michigan businesses are concerned the rule mandating companies over 100 employees require employee COVID-19 vaccines or regular testing will exacerbate pre-existing problems. Michigan Chamber President & CEO Rich Studley called the rule “out-of-touch,” especially during a labor shortage, inflation, and supply chain issues pre-holidays.
“Across our state, employers of every size and type are already struggling with a labor shortage, made worse by supply chain difficulties, made worse by increasing inflation,” Studley said.
On Nov. 5, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and other attorneys general filed a lawsuit aiming to stop the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses over 100 people. Over the weekend, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals temporarily halted the mandate, citing “grave” constitutional issues.
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