HOUSE BILL No. 5776

 

April 20, 2004, Introduced by Rep. Stewart and referred to the Committee on Employment Relations, Training and Safety.

        

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 A bill to amend 1964 PA 154, entitled                                             

                                                                                

    "Minimum wage law of 1964,"                                                 

                                                                                

    by amending section 4a (MCL 408.384a), as amended by 1997 PA 2.             

                                                                                

                THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:                      

                                                                                

1       Sec. 4a.  (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,                 

                                                                                

2   an employee shall receive compensation at not less than 1-1/2               

                                                                                

3   times the regular rate at which the employee is employed for                

                                                                                

4   employment in a workweek in excess of 40 hours.  Subject to a               

                                                                                

5   collective bargaining agreement, an employer shall not require a            

                                                                                

6   nurse to work more than 12 hours a day or more than 60 hours in             

                                                                                

7   any 7-day work period except in the event of an emergency.  As              

                                                                                

8   used in this subsection, "nurse" means a licensed practical nurse           

                                                                                

9   or a registered professional nurse licensed to engage in the                

                                                                                

10  practice of nursing under part 172 of the public health code,               

                                                                                

11  1978 PA 368, MCL 333.17201 to 333.17242.                                    

                                                                                


                                                                                

1       (2)  The  This state or a political subdivision, agency, or                 

                                                                                

2   instrumentality of  the  this state does not violate subsection             

                                                                                

3   (1) with respect to the employment of an employee in fire                   

                                                                                

4   protection activities or an employee in law enforcement                     

                                                                                

5   activities, including security personnel in correctional                    

                                                                                

6   institutions, if any of the following  applies  apply:                      

                                                                                

7       (a) In a work period of 28 consecutive days, the employee                   

                                                                                

8   receives for tours of duty, which in the aggregate exceed 216               

                                                                                

9   hours, compensation for those hours in excess of 216 at a rate              

                                                                                

10  not less than 1-1/2 times the regular rate at which the employee            

                                                                                

11  is employed.  The employee's regular rate shall be not less than            

                                                                                

12  the statutory minimum hourly rate.                                          

                                                                                

13      (b) For an employee to whom a work period of at least 7 but                 

                                                                                

14  less than 28 days applies, in the employee's work period the                

                                                                                

15  employee receives for tours of duty, which in the aggregate                 

                                                                                

16  exceed a number of hours  which  that bears the same ratio to the           

                                                                                

17  number of consecutive days in the employee's work period as 216             

                                                                                

18  bears to 28 days, compensation for those excess hours at a rate             

                                                                                

19  not less than 1-1/2 times the regular rate at which the employee            

                                                                                

20  is employed.  The employee's regular rate shall be not less than            

                                                                                

21  the statutory minimum hourly rate.                                          

                                                                                

22      (c) If an employee engaged in fire protection activities                    

                                                                                

23  would receive overtime payments under this act solely as a result           

                                                                                

24  of that employee's trading of time with another employee pursuant           

                                                                                

25  to a voluntary trading time arrangement, overtime, if any, shall            

                                                                                

26  be paid to employees who participate in the trading of time as if           

                                                                                

27  the time trade had not occurred.  As used in this subdivision,              


                                                                                

1   "trading time arrangement" means a practice under which employees           

                                                                                

2   of a fire department voluntarily substitute for one another to              

                                                                                

3   allow an employee to attend to personal matters, which practice             

                                                                                

4   is neither for the convenience of the employer nor because of the           

                                                                                

5   employer's operations.                                                      

                                                                                

6       (3)  The  This state or a political subdivision, agency, or                 

                                                                                

7   instrumentality of  the  this state engaged in the operation of a           

                                                                                

8   hospital or an establishment that is an institution primarily               

                                                                                

9   engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, or the mentally ill or           

                                                                                

10  defective who reside on the premises does not violate subsection            

                                                                                

11  (1) if both of the following conditions are met:                            

                                                                                

12      (a) Pursuant to a written agreement or written employment                   

                                                                                

13  policy arrived at between the employer and the employee before              

                                                                                

14  performance of the work, a work period of 14 consecutive days is            

                                                                                

15  accepted instead of the workweek of 7 consecutive days for                  

                                                                                

16  purposes of overtime computation.                                           

                                                                                

17      (b) For the employee's employment in excess of 8 hours in a                 

                                                                                

18  workday and in excess of 80 hours in the 14-day period, the                 

                                                                                

19  employee receives compensation at a rate of 1-1/2 times the                 

                                                                                

20  regular rate, which rate shall be not less than the statutory               

                                                                                

21  minimum hourly rate at which the employee is employed.                      

                                                                                

22      (4) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to any of the                

                                                                                

23  following:                                                                  

                                                                                

24      (a) An employee employed in a bona fide executive,                          

                                                                                

25  administrative, or professional capacity, including an employee             

                                                                                

26  employed in the capacity of academic administrative personnel or            

                                                                                

27  teacher in an elementary or secondary school.  However, an                  


                                                                                

1   employee of a retail or service establishment is not excluded               

                                                                                

2   from the definition of employee employed in a bona fide executive           

                                                                                

3   or administrative capacity because of the number of hours in the            

                                                                                

4   employee's workweek  which  that the employee devotes to                    

                                                                                

5   activities not directly or closely related to the performance of            

                                                                                

6   executive or administrative activities, if less than 40% of the             

                                                                                

7   employee's hours in the workweek are devoted to those                       

                                                                                

8   activities.                                                                 

                                                                                

9       (b) An individual who holds a public elective office.                       

                                                                                

10      (c) A political appointee of a person holding public elective               

                                                                                

11  office or a political appointee of a public body, if the                    

                                                                                

12  political appointee described in this subdivision is not covered            

                                                                                

13  by a civil service system.                                                  

                                                                                

14      (d) An employee employed by an establishment  which  that is                

                                                                                

15  an amusement or recreational establishment, if the establishment            

                                                                                

16  does not operate for more than 7 months in a calendar year.                 

                                                                                

17      (e) An employee employed in agriculture, including farming in               

                                                                                

18  all its branches, which among other things includes:  the                   

                                                                                

19  cultivation and tillage of the soil; dairying; the production,              

                                                                                

20  cultivation, growing, and harvesting of agricultural or                     

                                                                                

21  horticultural commodities; the raising of livestock, bees,                  

                                                                                

22  fur-bearing animals, or poultry; and a practice, including                  

                                                                                

23  forestry or lumbering operations, performed by a farmer or on a             

                                                                                

24  farm as an incident to or in conjunction with farming operations,           

                                                                                

25  including preparation for market, delivery to storage, or                   

                                                                                

26  delivery to market or to a carrier for transportation to market             

                                                                                

27  or the processing or preserving of perishable farm products.                


                                                                                

1       (f) An employee who is not subject to the minimum hourly wage               

                                                                                

2   provisions of this act.                                                     

                                                                                

3       (5) The director of the department of  consumer and industry                

                                                                                

4   services  labor and economic growth shall promulgate rules                  

                                                                                

5   pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA              

                                                                                

6   306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, to define the terms used in subsection           

                                                                                

7   (4).                                                                        

                                                                                

8       (6) For purposes of administration and enforcement, an amount               

                                                                                

9   owing to an employee that is withheld in violation of this                  

                                                                                

10  section is unpaid minimum wages under this act.                             

                                                                                

11      (7) The legislature shall annually appropriate from the                     

                                                                                

12  general fund to each political subdivision affected by subsection           

                                                                                

13  (2) an amount equal to the difference in direct labor costs                 

                                                                                

14  before and after January 4, 1979  which  that arises from any               

                                                                                

15  change in existing law resulting from the enactment of subsection           

                                                                                

16  (2) and incurred by each such political subdivision.                        

                                                                                

17      (8) In lieu of monetary overtime compensation, an employee                  

                                                                                

18  subject to this act may receive compensatory time off at a rate             

                                                                                

19  of not less than 1-1/2 hours for each hour of employment for                

                                                                                

20  which overtime compensation is required under this act, subject             

                                                                                

21  to all of the following:                                                    

                                                                                

22      (a) The employer allows employees a total of at least 10 days               

                                                                                

23  of leave per year without loss of pay and provides the                      

                                                                                

24  compensatory time to the employee only pursuant to either of the            

                                                                                

25  following:                                                                  

                                                                                

26                                                                               (i) Applicable provisions of a collective bargaining                                

                                                                                

27  agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other written                


                                                                                

1   agreement between the employer and representative of the                    

                                                                                

2   employee.                                                                   

                                                                                

3       (ii) If employees are not represented by a collective                        

                                                                                

4   bargaining agent or other representative designated by the                  

                                                                                

5   employee, a plan adopted by the employer and provided in writing            

                                                                                

6   to its employees that provides employees with a voluntary option            

                                                                                

7   to receive compensatory time off for overtime work when there is            

                                                                                

8   an express, voluntary written request to the employer by an                 

                                                                                

9   individual employee for compensatory time off in lieu of overtime           

                                                                                

10  pay before the performance of any overtime assignment.                      

                                                                                

11      (b) The employee has not earned compensatory time in excess                 

                                                                                

12  of the applicable limit prescribed by subdivision (d).                      

                                                                                

13      (c) The employee is not required as a condition of employment               

                                                                                

14  to accept or request compensatory time.  An employer shall not              

                                                                                

15  directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce or attempt           

                                                                                

16  to intimidate, threaten, or coerce an employee for the purpose of           

                                                                                

17  interfering with the employee's rights under this section to                

                                                                                

18  request or not request compensatory time off in lieu of payment             

                                                                                

19  of overtime compensation for overtime hours, or requiring an                

                                                                                

20  employee to use compensatory time.  In assigning overtime hours,            

                                                                                

21  an employer shall not discriminate among employees based upon an            

                                                                                

22  employee's choice to request or not request compensatory time off           

                                                                                

23  in lieu of overtime compensation.  An employer who violates this            

                                                                                

24  subsection is subject to a civil fine of not more than                      

                                                                                

25  $1,000.00.                                                                  

                                                                                

26      (d) An employee may not accrue more than a total of 240 hours               

                                                                                

27  of compensatory time.  An employer shall do both of the                     


                                                                                

1   following:                                                                  

                                                                                

2                                                                                (i) Maintain in an employee's pay record a statement of                             

                                                                                

3   compensatory time earned by that employee in the pay period that            

                                                                                

4   the pay record identifies.                                                  

                                                                                

5       (ii) Provide an employee with a record of compensatory time                  

                                                                                

6   earned by or paid to the employee in a statement of earnings for            

                                                                                

7   the period in which the compensatory time is earned or paid.                

                                                                                

8       (e) Upon the request of an employee who has earned                          

                                                                                

9   compensatory time, the employer shall, within 30 days following             

                                                                                

10  the request, provide monetary compensation for that compensatory            

                                                                                

11  time at a rate not less than the regular rate earned by the                 

                                                                                

12  employee at the time the employee performed the overtime work.              

                                                                                

13      (f) An employee who has earned compensatory time authorized                 

                                                                                

14  under this subsection shall, upon the voluntary or involuntary              

                                                                                

15  termination of employment or upon expiration of this subsection,            

                                                                                

16  be paid unused compensatory time at a rate of compensation not              

                                                                                

17  less than the regular rate earned by the employee at the time the           

                                                                                

18  employee performed the overtime work.  A terminated employee's              

                                                                                

19  receipt of or eligibility to receive monetary compensation for              

                                                                                

20  earned compensatory time shall not be used by either of the                 

                                                                                

21  following:                                                                  

                                                                                

22                                                                               (i) The employer to oppose an employee's application for                            

                                                                                

23  unemployment compensation under the Michigan employment security            

                                                                                

24  act, 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, MCL 421.1 to 421.75.                              

                                                                                

25      (ii) The state to deny unemployment compensation or diminish                 

                                                                                

26  an employee's entitlement to unemployment compensation benefits             

                                                                                

27  under the Michigan employment security act, 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1,            


                                                                                

1   MCL 421.1 to 421.75.                                                        

                                                                                

2       (g) An employee shall be permitted to use any compensatory                  

                                                                                

3   time accrued under this subsection for any reason unless use of             

                                                                                

4   the compensatory time for the period requested will unduly                  

                                                                                

5   disrupt the operations of the employer.                                     

                                                                                

6       (h) Unless prohibited by a collective bargaining agreement,                 

                                                                                

7   an employer may terminate a compensatory time plan upon not less            

                                                                                

8   than 60 days' notice to employees.                                          

                                                                                

9       (i) As used in this subsection:                                             

                                                                                

10                                                                               (i) "Overtime compensation" means the compensation required                         

                                                                                

11  under this section.  4a.                                                    

                                                                                

12      (ii) "Compensatory time" and "compensatory time off" mean                    

                                                                                

13  hours during which an employee is not working and for which the             

                                                                                

14  employee is compensated in accordance with this subsection in               

                                                                                

15  lieu of monetary overtime compensation.                                     

                                                                                

16      (iii) "Overtime assignment" means an assignment of hours for                 

                                                                                

17  which overtime compensation is required under this act.