LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Ken Horn and Sen. Jeremy Moss said the bipartisan “Safe Behavior for Safe Workplaces” work group is continuing progress on recommendations on how best to reopen Michigan for work and has received over 3,000 submissions from residents on its website.
“Michiganders have made tough sacrifices during this public health emergency to protect our communities, and they deserve a plan to help them begin to get back to work and support their families,” said Horn, R-Frankenmuth. “I want to thank the work group members for their hard work and dedication. We’ve made great strides on developing a blueprint to help Michigan residents return to work as quickly and as safely as possible and get our economy back on track.
“We reached out to the public for their input and have seen an overwhelming response. We owe it to the people of Michigan to review and consider all of these responses before finalizing our recommendations to the governor.”
Horn said that after speaking to leading medical experts from Ascension Michigan working in affected areas, the Oakland County medical director and Wayne County public health officer, as well as high level officials with LEO and MiOSHA, industry representatives from SBAM and MMA, leading voices in economic development, workers’ rights, and public health, the workgroup has agreed on the following principles that should guide reopening of the state:
- Considerations for gradually reopening the economy must take into account hospital capacity, availability of PPE and testing, and the importance of a sustained reduction in cases;
- Reopening must include actions to pull back again if there’s a new outbreak or resurgence;
- A set of minimum workplace measures, guided by input from MiOSHA and other stakeholders, must be established which industries can then build upon to tailor to their environment including, but not limited to considerations of workers’ situations such as chronic health conditions and childcare needs;
- Reopening the economy will be phase-based with input from business and public health experts.
“As we work to mitigate the spread of this unprecedented crisis, we also have to ensure that we’re preparing for our better days ahead,” said Moss, D-Southfield. “Our bipartisan work group is learning from expertise of public health officials while listening to the input from affected Michigan workers. My colleagues and I will continue our mission on how we’ll recommend re-engaging Michigan’s workforce, safely and responsibly, when the public health conditions permit it.”
In addition to Horn and Moss, the work group includes Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City; Sen. Curt VanderWall, R-Ludington; Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit; and Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit.
“In addition to the commitment to excellence this work group continues to make, my colleagues were chosen for their calm leadership skills,” Horn said. “In this stressful time, the people of Michigan can feel confident that Michigan will recover and thrive when we all work together.”
The work group was tasked by Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey to gather information remotely from businesses, medical professionals, and citizens across Michigan to create recommendations for best practices in the workplace in preparation for the transition back to work. The recommendations will then be presented to the governor.
Residents can share their thoughts and suggestions at www.MISafeWorkplaces.com.