Here's a little more info:Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed into law a package of bills designed to reform the state's unemployment insurance system and ensure continued access to federal grants and business tax credits."These are necessary updates to make sure Michigan is in line with federal requirements," Snyder said in a released statement. "They will also help strengthen the unemployment insurance system by reducing fraud."
The five-bill package will update Michigan law to align the state with new federal rules, as Snyder's release highlighted, but it also includes a controversial measure designed to cut off unemployment benefits for jobless individuals who fail or refuse to take a drug test offered by a prospective employer.
Under Public Act 146 of 2013, sponsored by state Rep. Ken Goike, R-Ray Township, employers will be able to choose whether to share drug test results with the state. Failure or refusal to participate would be considered proof that an individual "refused an offer of suitable work," allowing the state to terminate benefits.
The law includes a sunset, meaning that lawmakers will need to revisit the drug-testing policy in one year to determine whether it should continue.
Other new laws in the package will give the state greater authority to recover funds paid out as a result of fraudulent unemployment claims, redirect allocation of recovered funds and require employers to cover improper payments resulting from their own failure to provide timely and accurate information to the state. - MLive, 10/29/13
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/...
But what if you're someone who was prescribed medical marijuana?The measure is part of a package that gives the state more flexibility to reclaim fraudulent payments. Most of the bills bring Michigan in line with federal requirements, though the drug-testing law is separate.Businesses don’t have to notify the state when job applicants fail a drug test or decline to take it. But if companies pass along the information, applicants not hired because of a failed drug test will lose their checks.
One new law levies costs on employers that fail to provide timely and accurate information to the Unemployment Insurance Agency and cause improper payments to be made. Another law cancels benefits as of the date recipients commit fraud rather than the date the state becomes aware of it, forcing recipients to pay back the money.
The recovery of money is waived if the improper payments were the result of administrative error, lack of employer wage information or the recipients are in poverty. - Battle Creek Enquirer, 10/29/13
Democrats in the state House and Senate have spoken out against this meassure and tried to defeat but with no luck:It's not clear whether residents who use medical marijuana -- legal in Michigan since voter approval in 2008 -- could suffer the same fate."There should have been a clear and utter exemption," said state Rep. Jon Switalski, D-Warren, who has strongly opposed the Republican-sponsored proposal.
House Bill 4952, as originally written, did not include any safeguards for medical marijuana users. The final version approved Tuesday by the House contains language to protect individuals who have a "valid, documented prescription."
Medical marijuana, however, is not prescribed. Doctors certify patients, who can then grow plants themselves or buy the drug from a registered caregiver.
"If that's a legal prescription, then it will include it, but I don't think it does," said state Sen. Mark Jansen, R-Gaines Township, who amended the bill when it came before the committee he chairs. "I tried to give employers something, to put a little meat in it, to know they don't have to accept medical marijuana.
"…Somewhere down the road will courts have to get involved? Probably."
A federal appeals court ruled last year that Michigan's medical marijuana law "does not regulate private business." The court rejected a suit by a medical marijuana patient who was fired from a Walmart store in Battle Creek after failing a drug test. - MLive, 10/23/13
Opponents of such drug testing people on unemployment have argued that these programs don't work and are a waste of taxpayers' money:Democrats in both chambers have raised concerns about the bill, which is part of a six-bill package to reform the state system offering cash assistance to residents who recently lost jobs."If you were really interested in people gaining employment, you wouldn't kick them and their families off of unemployment insurance, you would offer them drug treatment so they could live a sober life," Sen. Coleman Young II, D-Detroit, said Thursday during a floor speech.
"This isn't about stewardship, it's about demonizing a group of Michigan citizens and starting a witch hunt to score political points."
Republicans have defended the drug testing measure as a common-sense safeguard for employers and the unemployment insurance system as a whole.
"They're going to have to come to the realization that they shouldn't be doing drugs," said state Sen. Mark Jansen, R-Gaines Township. "It's illegal, and it can cost you your job, and now your unemployment. I'm not sure what's wrong with that. To me, that's not politics." - MLive, 10/17/13
This is just another example of the GOP's war on the poor and it's why we have to get our base out next year and defeat them. If you want to get involved with Mark Schauer's (D. MI) campaign, you can do so here:“These programs are expensive, and they don’t work,” said Jason Williamson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has not ruled out legal action in cases of suspicion-based testing. “They’ll look exceedingly reasonable and unassailable, I’m sure that’s part of their calculation, but the arguments that we’re making are the same.”By leaving it up to employers to test for drugs, the legislation in Michigan has tried to sidestep the fray altogether. Whether businesses will voluntarily report failed drug tests to the state remains to be seen, as some may not want to get dragged into the appeals process.
Mr. Goike, the state representative, said he proposed the bill, modeled after a law in Indiana, after his brother-in-law tried hiring employees at a local manufacturing facility. Half of the applicants tested positive for drugs, Mr. Goike said, making them “unavailable for work,” which is a condition for receiving unemployment compensation.
Michigan has a 9 percent jobless rate and more than 233,000 people receiving unemployment benefits amounting to $935 million this year. - New York Times, 10/25/13
