December 6, 2018, Introduced by Reps. Greig, Hammoud, Hertel, Lasinski, Clemente, Gay-Dagnogo, Geiss, Wittenberg and Camilleri and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Trade.
A bill to require employers to provide meal periods for
certain employees; to prescribe powers and duties of certain state
governmental officers and entities; to authorize the promulgation
of rules; and to prescribe civil sanctions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"employee meal period act".
Sec. 3. As used in this act:
(a) "Department" means the department of licensing and
regulatory affairs.
(b) "Duty-free meal period" means a period during which an
employee is completely relieved of his or her employee duties and
is permitted to pursue personal activities.
(c) "Employee" means an individual who is 18 years of age or
older and performing labor or services for the benefit of an
employer in which the employer may command when, where, and how
much labor or services must be performed.
(d) "Employer" means an individual, sole proprietorship,
partnership, association, limited liability company, private
corporation, or other nongovernmental entity that directly or
indirectly employs 1 or more individuals.
(e) "On-duty meal period" means a period during which an
employee may consume a meal while performing his or her employee
duties.
(f) "Work shift" means the hours an employee is normally
scheduled to work within a consecutive 24-hour period.
Sec. 5. (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) and subject
to subsection (4), an employer shall provide a duty-free meal
period of not less than 30 consecutive minutes each work shift to
an employee whose work shift exceeds 5 consecutive hours.
(2) An employer may, but is not required to, pay an employee
wages for a duty-free meal period taken by the employee.
(3) When the nature of the business activity or other
circumstances exist that render a duty-free meal period
impractical, an employer shall provide an on-duty meal period each
work shift to an employee whose work shift exceeds 5 consecutive
hours. An employer shall pay an employee wages for an on-duty meal
period and shall not deduct an on-duty meal period from the
employee's wages.
(4) This section does not apply to any of the following
employees:
(a) An employee whose collective bargaining agreement
establishes a meal period.
(b) An employee who provides emergency medical response
services.
(c) An employee who is a manager.
Sec. 7. (1) If an employer violates this act, the employee
affected by the violation, at any time within 2 years after the
violation or 3 years after the violation if the violation was
willful, may file a complaint with the department in a manner as
provided by the department. The department shall investigate
alleged violations of this act and the rules promulgated under this
act. If an investigation indicates that a violation may have
occurred, a hearing must be held. The department shall issue a
written determination including the department's findings after the
hearing.
(2) An interested party may appeal a decision made by the
department under this act as a contested case pursuant to the
administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to
24.328.
Sec. 9. (1) An employer or any other person shall not
interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt
to exercise, any right protected under this act.
(2) An employer shall not take retaliatory personnel action or
discriminate against an employee because the employee has exercised
a right protected under this act.
(3) The protections in this section apply to any person who
mistakenly but in good faith alleges a violation of this section.
Sec. 11. (1) An employer shall retain for 5 years at the
premises of the employer a true and accurate record documenting the
hours worked by an employee.
(2) To monitor compliance with the requirements of this act,
an employer shall allow the department access to the records
required under subsection (1), with appropriate notice and at a
mutually agreeable time.
Sec. 13. An employer shall post and keep posted, in a
conspicuous place on the premises of the employer where notices to
employees are customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or
approved by the department, that includes excerpts from, or
summaries of, the pertinent provisions of this act. If the premises
of the employer or other conditions make the posting of this notice
impractical, an employer shall make the notice described in this
section available to an employee upon request.
Sec. 15. An employer or person that violates this act may be
ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $500.00. A violation
of this act may be prosecuted by the prosecutor of the county in
which the violation occurred, or by the attorney general.
Sec. 17. The department may promulgate rules to implement this
act pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA
306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
Sec. 19. This act applies to a collective bargaining agreement
or employment agreement that is executed, extended, or renewed on
or after the effective date of this act.
Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the
date it is enacted into law.