Governor Signs Cost-Saving Unemployment Insurance Reform Legislation 

Governor Snyder today signed a significant unemployment insurance (UI) reform bill in Lansing. It marks one of the biggest UI reforms Michigan has seen in decades. It is a huge win for job providers, who will save nearly $1 billion over three years as a result of this legislation. 

The Michigan Chamber played a leadership role in passing this legislation (HB 4408, Rep. Stamas) but it couldn't have happened without the help of Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe), House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) or Governor Snyder and the 24 Senators and the 65 House members voting for the bill.  We cannot thank them enough for their vision and leadership on this complicated issue. 

HB 4408 is a win-win for job providers hoping to create jobs and individuals struggling to find work because it:

· Reduces state weekly benefit duration from 26 to 20 weeks for new claimants beginning in January of 2012.  This change is expected to produce $300 million in annual savings.

· Requires the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) to more aggressively pursue fraud and abuse in the UI system, which totaled over $143 million in 2009 alone.  This change is expected to save $50-80 million in the first year.

· Fulfills a promise made by Congress to allow displaced workers to continue receiving weeks 79 to 99 of benefits through December 2011. 

UI reform is a top legislative priority for the Michigan Chamber during the 2011-12 legislative session. And although this bill was a significant victory, there is more work to be done to solve the state's current UI crisis, mainly that Michigan's UI Trust Fund has borrowed more than $3.9 billion from the federal government to continue paying benefits and people are still struggling to find work. 

Without further reforms, which the Michigan Chamber will be pursuing in the months ahead, Michigan's businesses' total additional tax burden will automatically increase by as much as $240 million in 2011 and increase progressively over the next decade to repay the federal debt plus interest. 

We must thank and congratulate lawmakers for passage of HB 4408 but stay focused on the prize of doing more to reform the system, which will ultimately help struggling job providers and put Michigan citizens back to work.

Please contact Wendy Block if you have any questions at wblock@michamber.com or 517/371-7678.

Governor Signs Bill to Ax Job-Killing Ergonomics Rule 

Good news! Last week, Michigan Chamber staff joined the Governor for the bill signing to put an official end to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (MIOSHA) efforts to promulgate a mandatory, one-size-fits-all workplace ergonomics rule on Michigan job providers. We thank lawmakers and the Governor for taking quick action to halt this pro-union, job-killing rule, which the Michigan Chamber has been fighting for years. 

Senate Bill 20 is a huge victory for job providers and codifies the promise made by Governor Snyder in his State of the State Address to "stop the efforts to establish mandatory and overreaching regulations on ergonomics standards that have been discussed for the past few years." Putting an official end to these rules is a top priority for the Michigan Chamber in the 2011-12 Legislative Session. 
 
We support legislative efforts to prohibit this rule because we believe the proposed rule was far too broad and would have forced businesses of all shapes and sizes - regardless of risk factors and/or history or non-history of ergonomics injuries - to comply with its unclear and vague requirements. Administration of a workplace ergonomics program would cost the private sector an estimated $216 million to $406 million annually, according to a 2000 Heritage Foundation study of similar ergonomics program proposed by OSHA in 2000. 
 
Furthermore, even without a rule, Michigan has seen a steady reduction in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), with MSDs decreasing by 38.8 percent between 1998 and 2004, even better than the 32.3 percent nationwide decline. California is the only other state in the nation to have a mandatory ergonomics rule, and their state's records indicate no consistent progress in reducing ergonomics related injuries. 
 
We believe every employer has a responsibility to provide its employees with a safe workplace. However, we also agree with the intent of this bill: A better approach to this issue would be to continue to support and encourage voluntary and cooperative efforts between the state and businesses to promote safety in the workplace. 
 
Regulatory reform is a top priority for the Michigan Chamber in the 2011-12 Legislative Session and the Governor's signature on Senate Bill 20 is an important first step in the process of making Michigan's business and regulatory climate more competitive.

Please contact Wendy Block, Director of Health Policy & Human Resources for the Michigan Chamber, if you have any questions at 517/371-7678 or wblock@michamber.com.