Lansing — A Michigan Senate committee is considering a bill that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to check their email, telephones or group messaging applications outside their normal work hours.
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, would also ban retaliation against workers who use the potential law and would allow for fines of up to $500 for violations. Geiss has dubbed the policy the “Workplace Employee Boundaries Act.”
During a hearing Thursday before the Senate’s Labor Committee, Geiss said a “right to disconnect” law in Michigan would represent a solution to “an increasingly absurd phenomenon with respect to the worker-workplace relationship.”
“This can be a win-win not only for employees but for employers, as well,” Geiss said. “Employees will know that their non-work hours communication boundaries will be respected.”
Geiss said that while there are other countries with similar standards, she came up with the idea through lived experience.
However, Amanda Fisher, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, argued against the measure Thursday, saying it was too broad to properly take into account the varied work schedules and industries across the state.
“It could end up being more harm than good,” Fisher told the committee.
In a letter to lawmakers, Fisher said the mandate would be challenging for small business owners who have small staffs.
“Imagine a small business owner needs to know where some key information is so they can complete an order,” Fisher said. “They would be prohibited from a quick text to that employee.”
The Labor Committee didn’t vote Thursday on whether to advance the bill to the full Senate. That might happen at a later date.
The restrictions in the proposal would impact emails, text messages, telephone calls and group message applications that many businesses use, like Slack and Teams.
Under the bill, a worker would be able to establish hours of availability outside of their usual work hours to be available to respond to work-related communications.
There would also be exceptions from the ban for state or national emergencies, alerts to be delivered to all employees and notices sent to on-call employees.
Geiss said she’s crafting changes to bring a carveout for work-related emergencies that can’t wait until normal business hours.
“We don’t get upset Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays,” Geiss added in an interview. “We just know we don’t go to Chick-fil-A on Sundays.”
Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, contended there could be unintended consequences tied to the policy. He asked about a small business with one employee. If the owner can’t find a specific part that was needed, what would the owner do outside normal business hours if they couldn’t contact the employee, Albert asked.
If the part was critical, the situation could fall into the emergency exemption, Geiss said.
Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, spoke in support of the bill. He said it would guarantee a worker time for themselves and their family.
“To be at a workplace should not be a 24/7 adventure,” Camilleri said.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lawmakers weigh ban on making workers check Slack, Teams after hours
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Craig Mauger, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
