On Friday, August 7, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-165, extending the governor’s emergency and disaster declaration until September 4, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.
The Governor also signed Executive Order 2020-166, prohibiting employers from discharging, disciplining, or retaliating against employees who make the choice to stay home when they or their close contacts are sick. The order outlines when individuals should remain at home, such as testing positive for COVID-19, displaying one or more of the included principal symptoms, or having had close contact with an individual testing positive. Employers must treat employees who stay home when they are sick as if he or she were taking medical leave under the Paid Medical Leave Act. The PMLA applies to all employers, not just those with 50 or more employees. To the extent that the employee has no paid leave, the leave may be unpaid. For more information on business obligations and responsibility of the public, read this analysis created by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
