Bills Would Strip Rights from Workers Who Suffered or Died from COVID-19

On July 23, 2020, Representative Thomas Albert (R - District 86) introduced House Bill 6030, a bill tie-bared to HB 6031, SB 1023, HB 6032, SB 1024. (A tie-bar means none of the bills can go into effect unless all of the bills are enacted.) House Bill 6030 was heard in the House Judiciary Committee on September 1, 2020, with support from employers. These bills would strip the most vulnerable and essential farmworkers from much needed legal protection during the COVID-19 pandemic by setting the bar too high to prove when an employer acted negligently in not protecting workers from COVID-19. These bills are especially harmful to immigrant workers, including many farmworkers, who do not have access to the workers compensation system due to their immigration status. The worst actors among employers, those who ignored health and safety guidance designed to protect workers and stop the spread of COVID-19, would benefit the most from the blanket immunity the bills provide. MIRC opposes these bills. 

Statement in Support of Farmworker Protections

Many farmworkers travel long distances to work in Michigan harvesting, packing, and processing our fruits and vegetables and they are dependent on their employer for both work and housing. The work they do is often dangerous and always physically and mentally demanding. Yet, the men, women, and children, who harvest, pack and process our fruits and vegetables, have been left out of employment protections other workers enjoy.

Drive SAFE (Safety, Access, Freedom, and the Economy) Bills (2019)

On October 31, 2019, Senate Bill 0631 and 0632 and House Bills 5192 and 5193 were introduced and are sponsored by Sens. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, in the Senate and Reps. Alex Garza, D-Taylor, and Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, in the House. MIRC supports these bills. We encourage you to attend any future hearing and to take a moment to contact your elected officials to express your support by clicking on the links:

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Michigan State Budget - County Jail Reimbursement Program (CJRP)

UPDATE: The original version including "anti-sanctuary" language was line-item vetoed. MIRC is neutral on substitute version that removes problematic immigration enforcement language.

House Bill 4231 (line item) Michigan State budget bill includes a section that punishes sanctuary cities and essentially forces police departments to cooperate with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). An attempt to punish counties who exercise their clear legal option to decline to hold people for ICE or engage in other optional federal immigration enforcement activities. Applying this condition to the CJRP funds could be in conflict with existing state and federal law. 

Civil Rights Expansion Package

In the last two weeks of June, Michigan State Representatives led by State Representative Abdullah Hammoud have introduced the MI Civil Rights Expansion bill package. The sponsors noted that the bills are designed to, “extend necessary civil rights protections to all residents, regardless of birthplace.”

The bills are briefly summarized below. MIRC supports these bills because the bills promote the full participation of Michigan's immigrant communities in the economic, social, and cultural life of our state.

Understanding Family Separation and MIRC's Response

In May 2018, the Trump administration formally announced a “zero tolerance” immigration policy and began prosecuting nearly all adult immigrants illegally entering the United States on misdemeanor charges. As a result, the U.S. government removed any children from these immigrants’ care and placed the children in shelters or federal foster care. This practice of family separation was also enforced against parents applying for asylum at U.S. ports of entry.

Fighting for Farmworker Minimum Wage

The right to a minimum wage is one of the most basic and fundamental protections a worker can count on in the workplace. Agricultural workers are among the most vulnerable and often-exploited workers, doing one of the most dangerous, and essential jobs, in today's economy. Michigan’s Wage and Hour laws are meant to offer stateside protection to workers where the federal government will not. Until very recently, this included agricultural workers on Michigan’s small farms.

"Without Work, What Would You Do?"

I joined MIRC in January of 2019 to help support MIRC’s expanding farmworker and immigrant workers rights litigation team. MIRC’s focus on equity and belonging for immigrants in Michigan communities is work that resonates with my lived experience. I was born in Honduras and came to the States a couple of months before I turned 4. I grew up in the Bronx in the 1980s and like many first or second generation Latinx immigrants, I learned and spoke English at school and Spanish at home and church.

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