News about current legislation affecting workplace rights before the U.S. Congress and the legislatures of all 50 states.
Please note that some articles may no longer be available on the source's website, or may not be accessible without payment of a fee, as different sites have different archive policies.
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Ground zero of affirmative action issue
Source: Jodi S. Cohen, Chicago Tribune
Date: October 19, 2006
Michigan voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to outlaw consideration of race
and gender in deciding which applicants get into college, who receives government jobs and what businesses
secure state and local contracts. The vote comes as affirmative action, one of the nation's most controversial
social issues, remains in the spotlight. The Supreme Court will hear cases this term from Seattle and
Louisville about whether public elementary and high schools can consider race in assigning students to specific
schools to maintain a racial balance. Backers of the Michigan proposal say individuals should be judged on
their merits. Opponents say that eliminating affirmative action would derail gains made by minorities and
women, and would lead to less diversity in government jobs and the state's colleges and universities,
particularly the University of Michigan.
Affirmative action on Michigan ballot
Source: Pauline Vu, Stateline.org
Date: August 29, 2006
A proposal on
Michigan's ballot to ban racial and gender preferences in public university admissions and government
hiring--in effect, to end affirmative action--has led to table-tossing protests, accusations of fraud and
deception, and a string of court battles. This year's election has reignited the state's contentious debate
over affirmative action, last settled in 2003 when the U.S. Supreme Court scrutinized the University of
Michigan's admissions processes. The high court threw out the undergraduate school's system that awarded
extra points to minority applicants, but it upheld the law school's admissions process that took race into
consideration but did not award points. The Michigan ballot measure would end preferences for women and
minorities and is modeled after proposals passed by voters in California in 1996 and Washington state in
1998.
Senate blocks new safety rules for workplace
Source: Gary Heinlein, Detroit News
Date: January 25, 2006
With 35,000 Ford layoffs looming, lawmakers Tuesday passed a bill to block the state from adopting new
workplace safety rules they say can only add to Michigan's job woes. The legislation, approved on a party-line
vote in the Michigan Senate, is intended to short-circuit two years of efforts by an advisory commission to
come up with recommended ergonomics standards for Michigan employers. Ergonomics is the science of designing
tools and equipment to help people work efficiently and injury-free. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is certain to veto
the bill, but that won't end the debate.
Bill to protect workers' rights motivated by smokers' firing
Source: Tim Martin, Associated Press, Lansing State Journal
Date: April 14, 2005
Workers would be protected from getting fired for what they do on
their own time--as long as it's legal--under a bill introduced Wednesday in the [Michigan] Senate. The
legislation was drafted in response to four workers losing their jobs because they didn't quit smoking outside
of work. But the legislation would have broader implications, barring employers from adopting a similar policy
for just about any legal activity as long as it doesn't impinge on their work. [The] legislation would prevent
employers from not hiring employees or discriminating against workers because of their legal conduct outside of
work.
