Michigan Legislature Considers Enhanced Protections for Whistleblowers
A significant legislative proposal aimed at bolstering protections for whistleblowers was deliberated by the Michigan House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The proposed measure seeks to heighten penalties and provide greater financial recourse for employees facing retaliation.
The legislation proposes increasing the penalty for unlawful retaliation from $500 to $2,000. Additionally, it allows affected individuals to claim triple their lost wages as a result of retaliatory actions.
Representative Jay DeBoyer, a Republican from Clay Township, emphasized the state’s responsibility to better protect whistleblowers and ensure adequate compensation for those who suffer retaliation. “The truth is under the current statute, there’s really nothing a victim is afforded other than reinstatement of their job and the wages that they lost because they were out,” DeBoyer remarked during the session.
The hearing also touched on the possibility of broadening the scope of the bill to extend protections to a wider range of employees. State Representative Kelly Breen, a Democrat from Novi, expressed support for this expansion, noting, “You have one person who sees something wrong, and they try to make it right by the proverbial blowing the whistle, then there are other employees who might see the same thing. And we want to make sure that if those employees come forward, they are also afforded the same protections.”
It’s noteworthy that Michigan’s Whistleblowers’ Protection Act has not seen any updates since 1983. This legislative effort represents a significant move towards modernizing the law and enhancing the safeguarding of employee rights in the state.
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