SOUTHERN WAYNE COUNTY REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: MI House Judiciary Committee Passes Business Liability Bills

By Press release submission

Sep 21, 2020

Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Sept. 17.

UPDATE: Substitutes Introduced and Passed by House Judiciary Committee to House Bills 6030-32 & 6101 Regarding COVID-19 Liability Protection for Businesses Acting in Good Faith and Protection for Employees. Bills Expected to be Taken Up by the House Soon.

links to view bills and substitutes available here: https://www.swcrc.com/publicpolicycommittee/

House Bills 6030, 6031, 6032 and 6101 have been introduced, and would incentivize employers to protect and promote workplace and customer safety and protect organizations against the acute economic threat of COVID-19 related lawsuits and other COVID-19 related liability concerns.

Bills Status: Substitutes to House Bills 6030, 6031, 6032, and 6101 (with 6031 and 6101 amending the MIOSHA Act) were introduced by the House Judiciary Committee this week, and passed out of the Committee on September 16. All committee Republicans voted yes, Reps. LaGrand and Elder passed, Reps. Yancy, Guerra, and Bolden voted no. It is expected that the House will vote on the bills the week of September 21. Recently, the MI Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee discussed proposed legislation and heard testimony from business leaders. The SWCRC will keep our membership updated as information becomes available.

Overview: Business owners across the State are concerned about the possibility of unnecessary and unfair litigation against Michigan’s job providers resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a strong effort to protect Michigan’s ethical business community, the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber joined trade associations and chambers of commerce from across the State to urge for and support common sense legislation from the state legislature and Governor Whitmer that will protect ethical businesses, which are operating according to the guidelines and orders provided by our governing authorities, from unfair and damaging COVID-19 related litigation. In the letter sent to House members earlier this month, four main concerns are addressed, including: 1) Protecting businesses from unfair litigation, while holding “bad actors” responsible for reckless and intentional wrongdoing; 2) Safe harbor protections that do not hold businesses liable in a lawsuit alleging that the business did not take sufficient protective steps, when the organization has followed all guidance and executive orders provided by the State of Michigan and our governing authorities; 3) supporting legislation that distinguishes legitimate claims from no-injury lawsuits: and, 4) supporting “good Samaritan” laws that places reasonable limits on liability exposure for manufacturers providing needed PPE to the community. If a business knew of a defect, and failed to act appropriately, it would be held responsible.

Original source can be found here.