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Guaranteed Severance Pay Bill Gets Second Chance in Michigan Legislature

 

Last week, Michigan State Representative Adbdullah Hammoud introduced a bill that would guarantee severance pay to employees when their employers closes their doors or scales down operations.

Under the proposal, employees that are let go in mass layoffs (including bankruptcy), would be guaranteed one week of severance pay for every year worked.  The proposal would impact employers in the state with at least 100 employees that let go at least half their employees.

Readers might recall that the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (“WARN Act”) requires that companies give 60 days’ notice ahead of mass layoffs.  However, if the company is filing bankruptcy, the debts of secured creditors are paid off first with often very little, if anything, left to go toward the workers.  This proposal would seek to drastically change that.

However, with a Michigan Legislature that is controlled by Republicans, this proposed bill has a ways to go before it stands a realistic chance of becoming law.  While a similar measure failed a few years ago, I am not sure if enough has changed for this version of the bill to pass.


For additional information:  https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/01/michigan-dem-seeks-labor-law-inspired-art-van-demise/7826151002/

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