On March 8, 2023, the Michigan Legislature passed Senate Bill 4, amending the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), and adding protections for individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Codifying the Michigan Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Rouch World v MI Department of Civil Rights, which held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation constitutes a violation of ELCRA as currently written, the amendment makes Michigan the 24th state to incorporate provisions for safeguarding individuals based on sexual orientation. The amendment, however, goes one step further to add protections for “gender identity or expression.”
On December 21, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (“WPA”) protects employees who report that their employer has violated “suspected” laws in a case called Janetsky v. County of Saginaw. In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the divided Court in Janetsky concluded that an assistant county prosecutor could bring WPA claims against her supervisor who she believed illegally offered a below-minimum plea deal.
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- Pumping the Brakes: New York Seeks to Curb AI Acceleration in Labor Market
- Video: California Governor’s PAGA Deal: What Employers Need to Know - Employment Law This Week
- Act Now: New York Employers Must Provide Paid Lactation Breaks to Employees
- Supreme Court Overturns Chevron—but for Stakeholders, the Impact Is No Cause for Alarm
- Fifth Circuit Narrows Application of the Crime-Fraud Exception to the Attorney-Client Privilege in Investigations