--- name: mi-employment description: > Subject-matter bundle for Michigan employment matters: discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage-and-hour, whistleblower, non-compete, and workers'-compensation exclusive remedy. Triggers include "Michigan employment discrimination", "Elliott-Larsen ELCRA MCL 37.2101", "PWDCRA MCL 37.1101", "MCL 15.361" whistleblower, "Michigan minimum wage", "MCL 408.471" Payment of Wages Act, "Mothering Justice", "MARA MCL 445.774a" non-compete, "MCL 418.131" workers' comp exclusive remedy. Covers ELCRA (1+ employee; 2023 amendment adding sexual orientation/gender identity); PWDCRA; WPA (90-day SOL); Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act; minimum wage and Earned Sick Time Act (as amended Feb. 21, 2025 by Mothering Justice); Toussaint legitimate-expectations at-will exception; MARA non-compete reasonableness; workers'-compensation exclusive remedy with intentional-tort exception. version: 0.2.0 --- # Michigan Employment Law > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Michigan employment claims are > deadline- and forum-sensitive, and several governing > statutes changed recently. The Whistleblowers' Protection > Act carries an unusually short **90-day** SOL; the minimum- > wage and paid-sick-leave regimes were rewritten by the > Michigan Supreme Court in *Mothering Justice* and then > amended by the Legislature effective **February 21, 2025**, > so current wage rates and sick-time mechanics are moving > targets. Verify SOLs, employer-coverage thresholds, current > wage/sick-time figures, and forum selection against the > current MCL and the reference corpus before drafting, and > consult a licensed Michigan attorney about your specific > case. Use this subject-matter bundle for Michigan employment civil actions — discrimination/harassment/retaliation, unpaid wages, whistleblower, non-compete enforcement, and tort-overlay claims against the workers'-compensation exclusive remedy. ## At a glance - **At-will baseline**, but the *Toussaint* **legitimate- expectations** doctrine and express-contract promises can convert at-will status to just-cause. - **Broadest discrimination coverage in the country**: ELCRA reaches employers with **1 or more employees** (MCL 37.2201) — far below Title VII's 15. - **Recently expanded protected classes**: per 2023 PA 6 (and *Rouch World, LLC v. Department of Civil Rights*, 510 Mich. 398 (2022)), ELCRA expressly covers **sexual orientation and gender identity**. - **Minimum wage + paid sick leave in flux**: the 2024 *Mothering Justice* decision reinstated the original ballot- initiative minimum-wage and Earned Sick Time statutes effective Feb. 21, 2025; the Legislature amended both the same day. Treat all dollar/hour figures as **corpus-driven**. - **Enforcement agencies**: Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights (MDCR) for ELCRA/PWDCRA; Michigan Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) Wage and Hour Division for wage/sick-time claims; the Workers' Disability Compensation Agency / Board of Magistrates for workers'-comp; EEOC and U.S. DOL for the federal overlay. ## SOL catalog (the most-used) | Claim | SOL | Citation | |---|---|---| | **ELCRA / PWDCRA** | **3 years** | MCL 600.5805; *Garg*, 472 Mich. 263 (2005) | | **Whistleblowers' Protection Act** | **90 days** | MCL 15.363(1) | | **Payment of Wages / Fringe Benefits Act** | **3 years** | MCL 408.481 et seq. | | **Public-policy wrongful discharge** | **3 years** | MCL 600.5805 | | **Breach of employment contract (incl. *Toussaint*)** | **6 years** | MCL 600.5807(9) | | **Title VII / ADA / ADEA (federal in MI)** | **300 days** to EEOC (deferral state) | 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e) | | **FLSA / FMLA (federal)** | **2 yr / 3 yr** willful | 29 U.S.C. §§ 255, 2617(c) | The **90-day WPA clock is the trap** — far shorter than the 3-year discrimination period and **not** tolled by an administrative charge. Verify current day counts and tolling carve-outs against the corpus (`mi-statutes-debt/` or the canonical MCL where the corpus is stubbed). ## The principal Michigan statutes ### 1. Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) — MCL 37.2101 et seq. Michigan's core anti-discrimination statute and the most plaintiff-friendly state civil-rights act in the country. - **Coverage**: 1 or more employees — MCL 37.2201(a). No small-employer escape hatch. - **Protected classes** (MCL 37.2202): religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, **height, weight** (Michigan- distinctive — no federal analog), and marital status — plus **sexual orientation and gender identity or expression**, added by 2023 PA 6 as separate enumerated categories (not merely by redefining "sex"), codifying and extending *Rouch World, LLC v. Dep't of Civil Rights*, 510 Mich. 398 (2022). (Familial status is a protected class under MCL 37.2102's general declaration and in housing, but is not enumerated in the MCL 37.2202 employer list.) - **Tracks**: complaint to MDCR / Michigan Civil Rights Commission under MCL 37.2602 **or** a direct Circuit Court civil action — exhaustion is **not** required; SOL is the general **3-year** personal-injury period (*Garg*). - **Damages**: actual damages **with no statutory cap**, plus **exemplary damages** for injury to feelings, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff (MCL 37.2802). Jury trial available. ### 2. Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA) — MCL 37.1101 et seq. Michigan's state disability-discrimination analog to the ADA; 1+ employee coverage, tracking ELCRA. - **Disability** (MCL 37.1103): a determinable physical/mental characteristic that substantially limits a major life activity and is unrelated to job ability, plus perceived- and record-of prongs. - **Reasonable accommodation**: required absent undue hardship; the employee must give **written notice** of the need within **182 days** under MCL 37.1210(18) — a Michigan-specific trap. - **Remedies / SOL** track ELCRA (3 years; actual + exemplary + fees under MCL 37.1606). ### 3. Whistleblowers' Protection Act (WPA) — MCL 15.361 et seq. Protects an employee who **reports or is about to report** a suspected violation of law/regulation/rule to a **public body**, or participates in a public-body investigation or hearing (MCL 15.362). Purely internal reports not "about to" reach a public body fall outside the WPA (though they may support a *Suchodolski*-style public-policy tort). - **SOL**: **90 days** after the alleged violation — MCL 15.363(1). A hard, short deadline. - **Remedies**: injunctive relief, actual damages, or both; reinstatement, back pay, reasonable attorney + witness fees (MCL 15.363–15.364); plus a civil fine on the employer (MCL 15.365). - **Exclusivity caution**: where the WPA covers the conduct it is generally the **exclusive remedy**, displacing a parallel public-policy claim (*Dudewicz v. Norris-Schmid, Inc.*, 443 Mich. 68 (1993), as later refined). Verify current case law. ### 4. Wages — Payment Act + Minimum Wage + Earned Sick Time **Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act — MCL 408.471 et seq.** Wages due on regular paydays (MCL 408.472); on quit/discharge, all earned wages due by the regularly scheduled payday — no immediate-payment rule (MCL 408.475); no deduction without the employee's **written consent** or statutory authority (MCL 408.477); fringe benefits payable per written policy/contract (MCL 408.473). Enforce via LEO Wage and Hour or a private civil action; **3-year** SOL. **Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (minimum wage) — MCL 408.931 et seq.** > **VERIFY — recently changed.** In *Mothering Justice v. > Attorney General*, 515 Mich. ___ (2024), the Michigan Supreme > Court struck down the Legislature's 2018 "adopt-and-amend" > maneuver and reinstated the original ballot-initiative minimum- > wage and sick-time statutes effective **February 21, 2025**. > The Legislature then amended both statutes the same day > (2025 PA 1 / 2025 PA 2). The amended minimum-wage schedule is > **$12.48 (eff. Feb. 21, 2025) → $13.73 (Jan. 1, 2026) → $15.00 > (Jan. 1, 2027)**, with later years indexed for inflation, and a > revised tipped-credit phase-down. - **Confirm the current rate, tipped-credit percentage, and next scheduled increase against the corpus** — these figures drift annually and were re-set by the 2025 amendments. Point to `mi-statutes-debt/` (the IWOWA MCL 408.931 chapter) or the LEO Wage and Hour minimum-wage page for the live number. - **Overtime**: Michigan tracks the FLSA 40-hour threshold; the state has no separate daily-overtime rule. **Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) — reinstated by *Mothering Justice*** > **VERIFY — recently changed.** ESTA (the reinstated ballot > initiative, as amended Feb. 21, 2025) replaced the prior Paid > Medical Leave Act. General rule: accrual of **1 hour of paid > sick time per 30 hours worked**. Annual usage may be capped > (the 2025 amendment set roughly **72 hours** for larger > employers and **40 hours** for small businesses), with a > small-business exemption phased through **Oct. 1, 2025**. - **Confirm the current accrual rate, usage cap, small-business threshold, frontloading option, and effective dates against the corpus** — every figure here was set by the 2025 amendments and is subject to change. ### 5. Workers' Disability Compensation — MCL 418.101 et seq. Workers'-comp is the **exclusive remedy** for personal injury or death arising out of and in the course of employment — **MCL 418.131(1)** — adjudicated by the **Board of Magistrates** within the Workers' Disability Compensation Agency (review to the Michigan Compensation Appellate Commission, then the Court of Appeals), **not** in Circuit Court. The bar extends to co- employees acting in the course of employment. The narrow **intentional-tort exception** (MCL 418.131(1)) lets a tort suit proceed only where the employer had **actual knowledge** an injury was certain to occur and **willfully disregarded** it; *Travis v. Dreis & Krump Mfg. Co.*, 453 Mich. 149 (1996) — mere negligence, recklessness, or knowledge of a general risk is insufficient. ## At-will employment and its exceptions Michigan is an at-will state, with three exceptions: (1) **express contract** — a written or oral just-cause/for-cause promise; (2) the **legitimate-expectations (*Toussaint*) doctrine** — *Toussaint v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan*, 408 Mich. 579 (1980): employer policy statements (handbooks, manuals, oral assurances) can create an enforceable just-cause expectation absent a formal contract, routinely defeated by a conspicuous **at-will disclaimer** (*Lytle v. Malady*, 458 Mich. 153 (1998)); and (3) the **public-policy exception** — discharge for refusing to break the law, exercising a statutory right, or reporting a violation (where not displaced by the WPA), *Suchodolski v. Mich. Consol. Gas Co.*, 412 Mich. 692 (1982). A *Toussaint*/express-contract claim sounds in **contract** (6-year SOL, MCL 600.5807(9)); the public-policy tort sounds in tort (3-year SOL). ## Non-compete and restrictive covenants — MARA Non-compete enforceability is governed by the **Michigan Antitrust Reform Act (MARA)** at **MCL 445.774a**, not common law alone. An employer may obtain an agreement protecting "reasonable competitive business interests" that is reasonable as to **duration**, **geographical area**, and **type of employment / line of business** (MCL 445.774a(1)). If unreasonable in any respect, "a court **may limit the agreement to render it reasonable** ... and specifically enforce the agreement as limited" — Michigan courts thus **blue-pencil / reform** overbroad covenants rather than voiding them. A bare desire to suppress ordinary competition is not protectable. Trade-secret claims track the **Michigan Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MUTSA)**, MCL 445.1901 et seq. (see `mi-commercial- disputes`). Watch current FTC non-compete rulemaking and confirm enforceability against the live MCL. ## Federal overlay — the deferral-state framework The MDCR is an EEOC **work-share agency**: a charge filed with either MDCR or EEOC is dual-filed, and the federal **300-day** SOL applies to Title VII / ADA / ADEA / GINA (rather than the 180-day non-deferral baseline). Each federal statute has a state parallel — Title VII (15+) → ELCRA (1+); ADA (15+) → PWDCRA (1+); ADEA (20+) → ELCRA age provision (1+); *Bostock* sexual- orientation/gender-identity → ELCRA (2023 PA 6 / *Rouch World*) — except GINA and the FMLA, which have no state analog. ELCRA's **3-year** judicial SOL and the **90-day** EEOC right-to-sue clock are separate, independently-running deadlines. ## Forum strategy | Claim | Forum | Notes | |---|---|---| | ELCRA / PWDCRA | **Circuit Court** | General jurisdiction; jury trial; no exhaustion required | | WPA | Circuit Court | 90-day SOL — calendar immediately | | Public-policy wrongful discharge | Circuit Court | 3-year tort SOL | | Wage / fringe-benefit claim | LEO Wage & Hour complaint **or** Circuit / District Court (District if ≤ $25,000) | 3-year SOL | | Minimum wage / ESTA | LEO Wage & Hour **or** civil action | Confirm current private-action mechanics in corpus | | Non-compete enforcement | **Circuit Court** | TRO / preliminary injunction is the standard ask; verified complaint + bond (MCR 3.310) | | Workers' Compensation | **Board of Magistrates (WDCA)** | Administrative; **not** Circuit Court | | Federal claims (Title VII / FLSA / FMLA) | **U.S. District Court** (E.D. or W.D. Mich.) | Removal possible; supplemental jurisdiction over parallel ELCRA claim | ## Drafting checklist - [ ] Calendar the **WPA 90-day SOL** the moment a whistleblower claim is on the table — it is the shortest deadline in the bundle and is not tolled by an agency filing. - [ ] Confirm employer-coverage thresholds — ELCRA/PWDCRA reach **1+ employee**; do not assume a Title VII-style 15-employee floor applies. - [ ] For discrimination claims, decide **MDCR vs. direct Circuit Court suit** — exhaustion is not required; the 3-year judicial clock runs from the discriminatory act (*Garg*). - [ ] For PWDCRA accommodation claims, confirm the employee gave **written notice within 182 days** (MCL 37.1210(18)). - [ ] For minimum-wage / ESTA claims, **pull the current rate, accrual rate, usage cap, and small-business threshold from the corpus** — these were re-set by *Mothering Justice* and the Feb. 21, 2025 amendments and change over time. - [ ] For *Toussaint* claims, plead in **contract** (6-year SOL) and identify the specific policy statement / oral assurance; anticipate an at-will-disclaimer defense. - [ ] For non-compete enforcement, plead the **MARA** reasonableness factors (duration / geography / line of business) and the protectable interest; for defense, identify which factor fails and note the court's **blue-pencil** reform power. - [ ] For workers'-comp tort-overlay suits, plead the narrow **intentional-tort** standard (actual knowledge + willful disregard; *Travis*) — ordinary negligence is barred by MCL 418.131(1). ## Damages and remedies **ELCRA / PWDCRA**: actual damages (no cap) + exemplary damages for injury to feelings + mandatory fees to a prevailing plaintiff (MCL 37.2802 / 37.1606). **WPA**: actual damages + reinstatement + reasonable attorney/witness fees (MCL 15.364). **Wages Act**: unpaid wages/fringe benefits per statute or contract. **Public-policy tort**: compensatory + punitive (American Rule on fees). **FLSA**: unpaid wages + 100% liquidated (good-faith defense) + mandatory fees (29 U.S.C. § 216(b)). **Title VII**: compensatory + punitive on a size-graded cap + mandatory fees. ## Composition - For statewide format and caption: `mi-statewide-format` - For Circuit Court venue mechanics: the appropriate county venue skill or `mi-circuit-courts` - For first responsive pleading: `mi-first-30-days` - For drafting motions / declarations / orders: `mi-draft-motion`, `mi-draft-declaration`, `mi-draft-order` - For SOL / limitations arithmetic (esp. the WPA 90-day clock): `mi-deadlines` - For commercial / trade-secret overlap (MUTSA, fiduciary duty, tortious interference): `mi-commercial-disputes` - For garnishment of an unpaid-wage judgment: `mi-post-judgment` ## References - `mi-law-references` — MCL, Michigan Court Rules, and federal-debt-laws (FLSA / ADA / Title VII overlay) symlinked from `claude-legal-federal-laws` - MCL ch. 37 (ELCRA § 37.2101; PWDCRA § 37.1101); ch. 15 (WPA § 15.361); ch. 408 (Wages Act § 408.471; IWOWA minimum wage § 408.931; Earned Sick Time Act); ch. 445 (MARA § 445.774a; MUTSA § 445.1901); ch. 418 (Worker's Disability Compensation — exclusive remedy + intentional-tort exception § 418.131) - *Rouch World*, 510 Mich. 398 (2022); *Mothering Justice v. Attorney General*, 515 Mich. ___ (2024); *Toussaint*, 408 Mich. 579 (1980); *Lytle v. Malady*, 458 Mich. 153 (1998); *Garg*, 472 Mich. 263 (2005); *Travis v. Dreis & Krump*, 453 Mich. 149 (1996); *Suchodolski*, 412 Mich. 692 (1982) - Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights: https://www.michigan.gov/mdcr - LEO Wage and Hour: https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/ber/wage-and-hour