Legislation aimed at strengthening labor policies in Michigan was introduced this week. Introduced by Senator Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), the bill creates the Workplace Employee Boundaries (WEB) Act. The goal is to modernize labor standards to respond to the ever-growing ubiquity of digital devices in our everyday lives.
Key Points:
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- An employer can’t require an employee to access or respond to work-related communication outside of regular work hours.
- An employee could establish hours of availability outside of their usual hours and communicate those to their employer.
- Exceptions include state or federal emergency declarations, a notice to an on-call employee, and timely notice or alerts to all employees or to a subset of employees.
- An employer can’t take retaliatory action against an employee for not responding to communication outside of their work hours.
- If they are found to be in violation by the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, an employer could be fined up to $500 for each violation of the act.
- Additionally, the employer would owe the employee compensation for the time the employee was required to be available outside of work hours.
- The bill was referred to the Senate Labor Committee for consideration.
“Adopting these standards will improve employee well-being and increase long-term productivity. By safeguarding personal time, the bill promotes and fosters a more sustainable, stronger workforce. At the same time, employers benefit from clearer expectations, improved retention, and reduced turnover. By enacting the WEB Act, Michigan can position itself as a leader in forward-looking labor policy by recognizing the realities of modern work while promoting fairness, stability, and quality of life for all workers,” said Senator Geiss.
