On October 2, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an opinion that overturned Governor Whitmer’s numerous executive orders issued in response to the pandemic. Despite the ruling, employers and businesses operating during the pandemic should not assume that this decision eliminated all restrictions on their operations. For instance, the opinion had no effect on CDC recommendations or state and federal OSHA regulations, the latter of which still have the force of law and are very similar to the executive orders. Moreover, other state and local health and safety agencies have authority to impose restrictions to control spread of COVID-19 and have issued orders to fill in some of the void that some believe the court created, which are the subject of this article.
In the week following the decision, Robert Gordon, the Director of the Michigan Department Health and Human Services, issued several orders under seemingly broad authority granted by the Public Health Code to prohibit gatherings to control epidemics. Two of these orders, one issued on October 5 the other on October 9, 2020, apply generally and have the following effects that closely resemble the previous executive orders:
The safest recommendation for all employers and businesses open to the public is to continue to maintain procedures already put in place under the executive orders for protecting employees and customers while making modest adjustments that are permitted or required by the new orders being issued. While these orders are different in some respects, they are not very different.
For further information regarding these matters, please contact Mr. Nixon at 248 619 2585 or via email.