Michigan lawmakers consider expanding exclusive remedy loophole

Michigan lawmakers will consider a bill that would allow injured workers to sue their employer in certain cases if the workplace is in violation of a workplace safety standard.

H.B. 5178, prefiled for Nov. 4, would amend state law on exclusive remedy, allowing a tort action if the “employee is injured as a result of the employee’s employer’s serious or willful failure to comply with the Michigan occupational safety and health act… or a rule or standard promulgated under the Michigan occupational safety and health act.”

The bill also states that an employer’s action would be considered “deliberate” under certain conditions, including “that there was substantial risk an injury would occur.”

The bill is being considered along with 14 other pieces of workers comp-related legislation prefiled for Nov. 4, many of which propose subtle changes to time frames and allowable benefits. Among the proposals is H.B. 5180, a bill that would create an infectious disease presumption for workers deemed essential during a declared emergency. H.B. 5186 would address workers fired for discrimination for filing a complaint, stating that employers found in violation would be subject to pay the “aggrieved person, without regard to disability or wage loss, an amount equal to 100 weeks of the aggrieved person’s average weekly wage earned at the time of the discharge, discrimination, or injury, whichever is greater.”