Page 179 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

than 23, or who reaches the age of 23 while participating in an approved paid-work-based
learning program, and who is enrolled in a public or private secondary or postsecondary
school in the State.”
Time off. The definitions pertinent to the State’s Flexible Leave Act were expanded to
provide clarification to employers and employees by defining the nature of the leave to be
used and how it is to be accounted for, and, in accordance with any terms of a collective-bar-
gaining agreement or employment policy, to prohibit an employer from taking certain actions
against an employee for filing a complaint, testifying against or assisting in a certain action,
and failing to comply with other provisions related to the State Flexible Leave Act. The rele-
vant new definitions are as follows: (a) an “employer” is a person who employs 15 or more
individuals and is engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in
the State; (b) a person’s “immediate family” includes a child, spouse, and parent; and (c)
“leave with pay” includes sick leave, vacation time, and compensatory time and is time away
from work for which an employee receives compensation. These amendments refer to
employers who provide leave with pay under a collective-bargaining agreement or employ-
ment policy. An employee may use leave with pay for the illness of the employee’s immedi-
ate family. An employee may only use leave with pay that has been earned and may designate
the type and amount of leave with pay to be used. If the terms of a collective-bargaining
agreement or employment policy provide a leave-with-pay benefit that is equal to or greater
than the benefit provided by this act, the collective-bargaining agreement or employment pol-
icy prevails. An employer may not discharge, demote, suspend, discipline, otherwise discrim-
inate against, or threaten to take any actions against an employee who files a complaint
against, testifies against, or assists in an action brought against the employer for a violation
of this act. These specifications regarding leave with pay don’t affect leave granted under the
Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and went into effect on October 1, 2008.
Worker privacy. The authorization for data collection and reporting requirements by the
State commissioner of labor and industry concerning labor and employment pay disparity
data has been amended. The commissioner may now collect and analyze data concerning
the racial classification of employees and the gender of employees so that the data may be
used to study pay disparity issues. The commissioner shall report to the State general assem-
bly on or before October 1, 2013, regarding the analysis of the data collected and analyzed.
The requirement took effect on October 1, 2008, and shall remain effective for a period of
five years and three months. At the end of December 31, 2013, with no further action
required by the general assembly, the requirement shall cease.

MICHIGAN

Independent contractor. Employers in the State and elsewhere too often misclassify individ-
uals they hire as independent contractors, even when those individuals should legally be
classified as employees. In doing so, the employer may be violating a number of legal obli-
gations under State and Federal labor, employment, and tax laws. A State Executive order
created the State Interagency Task Force on Employee Misclassification as an advisory body
within the State Department of Labor and Economic Growth. The task force shall examine

162 The H R Toolkit