Michigan Employment Law

Eligibility Criteria: Michigan employees who work for an employer with 50 or more employees are covered.

Duration of the Leave: Paid medical leave is accrued at a rate of 1 hour for every 35 actual hours worked; however, an employer is not required to allow accrual of over 1 hour in a calendar week or more than 40 hours in a benefit year. 

A benefit year is any consecutive 12-month period used by an employer to calculate an eligible employee’s benefits.

Usage of Paid Leave: Paid medical leave must be used in 1-hour increments unless the employer has a different increment policy set forth in writing in an employee handbook or other employee benefit document.  Employees may take paid medical leave for any of the following:

• • • Physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition of the employee or their family member.
    • Medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the employee or employee’s family member.
    • Preventative care of the employee or their family member.
    • Closure of the employee’s primary workplace by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
    • The care of their child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
    • The employee’s or their family member’s exposure to a communicable disease would jeopardize the health of others as determined by health authorities or a health care provider.

For domestic violence and sexual assault situations, employees may use paid medical leave for any of the following:

• • • • Medical care or psychological or other counseling.
      • Receiving services from a victim services organization.
      • Relocation and obtaining legal services.
      • Participation in civil or criminal proceedings related to or resulting from domestic violence or sexual assault.

Notice Requirement: Employees must follow the employer’s usual and customary notice, procedural, and documentation requirements for requesting leave. The employee must be allowed at least 3 days to provide documentation.

In the event that an employee is using for domestic violence, an employee must furnish the following documents:

• • • Police reports indicate that the eligible employee or the eligible employee’s family member was a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault.
    • A signed statement from a victim and witness advocate affirming that the eligible employee or eligible employee’s family member is receiving services from a victim services organization.
    • A court document indicating that the eligible employee or eligible employee’s family member is involved in legal action related to domestic violence or sexual assault.

Carryover of the Unused Leave: Employees can carry over up to 40 hours of unused accrued paid medical leave from one benefit year to the next; however, employers are not required to allow employees to use more than 40 hours in a single benefit year.

An employer may provide the total amount of paid medical leave all at once by providing at least 40 hours at the beginning of the benefit year or on the date that the individual becomes eligible during the benefit year on a prorated basis. If an employer adopts this practice, it does not have to permit employees to carry over unused leave to the next benefit year. 

This and FMLA leave of absence for employees who become parents of newly born, adopted, or fostered child(ren); or who request leave to care for their newborn child. An eligible employee is entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of FMLA leave during a 12-month period. Parental leave must conclude within 12 months of the birth or placement. After exhausting FMLA leave entitlement, an employee may be eligible for a parental leave of absence for birth or adoption for up to six months, as provided in CS Regulations or the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Sick leave may not be used to substitute unpaid Parental Leave for paid leave. Parental leave taken under the FMLA may count against other parental leave entitlements.

Long Term Disability (LTD) is a self-funded program that provides income protection if you should lose wages as a result of a medical injury, illness, or pregnancy that results in a total disability of a least 14 calendar days.

Employers may not discharge or discipline an employee for taking time off from work to serve on a jury. Leave is generally unpaid.

An employee who is a victim of a crime or a representative of a crime victim is entitled to take time off from work to testify in or attend a judicial proceeding. Leave is unpaid.

Members of state or U.S. uniformed services called into active state or federal duty may take unpaid leave; the employee may also take unpaid leave to take a physical, enlist, be inducted, or attend training. The returning employee must be reinstated to the former position. An employer may not in any way discriminate against an employee or threaten to prevent an employee from enlisting in the state armed forces.