Governor’s New Executive Order Ensures Protections For Workers Who Stay Home When They’re Sick

LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Friday to reinstate protections for Michigan workers as the state continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes after the federal government allowed federal pandemic unemployment assistance for Americans who have lost work as a result of this virus to lapse at the end of July, putting pressure on more people to return to work, even if they’re sick.

Under this executive order:

• The governor prohibits employers from discharging, disciplining, or retaliating against employees who make the responsible choice to stay home when they or their close contacts are sick.
• Employers must treat employees who stay home when they are sick as if he or she were taking medical leave.
• Any and all Michiganders who test positive for COVID-19 or who display one or more of the principal symptoms, such as a fever, sore throat, a new uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, severe headache, and new loss of taste or smell should stay home.
• Individuals must remain home until 24 hours have passed since the resolution of fever without medication or 10 days have passed since their symptoms first appeared or were tested positive.