Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
UPDATE MIOSHA ADMINISTRATION AND PENALTIES
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bills 829 and 830 as reported from House committee Analysis available at
Sponsor: Sen. John Cherry http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Committee: Labor
Senate Committee: Labor
Complete to 12-7-24
SUMMARY:
Senate Bill 830 would update Michigan’s occupational health and safety standards to reflect
the transfer of responsibility for administering and enforcing those standards to the Department
of Labor and Economic Opportunity and to incorporate updated federal penalties. Senate Bill
829 is a companion bill that would make complementary updates to the Code of Criminal
Procedure.
Senate Bill 830 would amend the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA)
to transfer administration and enforcement of the act to the Department of Labor and Economic
Opportunity (LEO) in alignment with Executive Order 2019-13 (see Background, below) and
to modify the act’s prescribed maximum penalties to match federal standards.
Currently, MIOSHA provides that LEO is responsible for administering and enforcing the
provisions of MIOSHA pertaining to occupational safety, and the Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS) is responsible for administering and enforcing provisions relating to
occupational health. Both departments must annually report the provisions of MIOSHA where
their authority overlaps, and all agreements and administrative procedures to coordinate joint
enforcement, 1 to the appropriate House and Senate committees.
Senate Bill 830 would remove these provisions and instead provide that LEO administers and
enforces the entirety of MIOSHA, in accordance with E.O. 2019-13.
LEO authorities and responsibilities
Under the bill, LEO would have the sole authority to do all of the following: 2
• Conduct an occupational health education and training program.
• Administer and enforce the federal Field Sanitation Standard in a manner that is
consistent with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and distribute free copies of the Field Sanitation Standard and state-level agricultural
sanitation standards to the public.
• Grant, modify, or revoke variances from an occupational health and safety standard:
o Approve an employer’s application for a temporary order to grant a variance
from a MIOSHA standard or portion of a standard and issue an interim order
to be effective until a decision on the temporary order is made.
1
Any changes to those agreements or procedures must also be reported in writing within 15 days.
2
Current law provides that either LEO or DHHS, as appropriate, has these responsibilities.
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 o Grant a variance from a standard or portion of a standard to allow an employer
to participate in an approved experiment designed to demonstrate or validate
new and improved techniques to safeguard worker safety.
o Grant an employer’s application for a variance from a standard upon
determining that the conditions, practices, means, methods, operations, or
processes used or proposed will provide employment and places of
employment that are as safe and healthful as those that would prevail if the
employer complied with the standard.
o Modify or revoke a rule or order granting a variance.
• Investigate alleged MIOSHA violations:
o Physically inspect or investigate conditions of employment, and all pertinent
conditions, equipment, and materials in a place of employment, and privately
question the employer, owner, agent, operator, or an employee with respect to
safety or health.
o Apply to the appropriate judicial officer for a warrant if permission to enter a
place of employment is denied.
o Require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of
evidence under oath when conducting inspections and investigations.
o Apply for a court order requiring a person to appear and produce evidence or
give testimony related to an investigation.
o Conduct an inspection upon receiving a complaint about a violation of a
standard that threatens physical harm to an employee and determining that
there are reasonable grounds for the complaint.
o When applicable, notify a complainant and employer of a determination that
there are not reasonable grounds to believe an alleged violation exists.
o Establish procedures for the informal review of any decision resulting from a
request or notice to inspect an alleged violation.
o If an employee or designated employee representative requests a review,
provide a written statement of the final disposition of the notice or complaint
and the reasons for the disposition.
• Address safety hazards:
o If imminent danger exists in a place of employment, inform the employer and
affected employees, immediately recommend an order to be issued that
requires necessary action to avoid, correct, or remove the danger, and tag the
equipment or process that is the source of the danger.
o Conduct an immediate inspection or otherwise abate a danger after being
notified that a condition exists that may present an immediate danger.
o Issue a citation for a violation of MIOSHA or a related order, rule, or standard
and notify employers that do not correct the violation within the permitted
correction period. 3
• Modify a schedule for compliance, modify or dismiss a citation, or modify or dismiss
a proposed penalty after receiving a petition from an employer, employee, or employee
bargaining representative.
3
Currently, citations must be issued within 90 days after the completion of an inspection or investigation, and citations
and notices must be sent by registered mail to the employer. The bill would require LEO representatives to issue
citations within 90 days after the completion of a conference with the employer or the employee or employee
representative, as applicable, for the inspection or investigation, and citations and notices would have to be sent by
registered mail. Copies of the citation and employer notices of compliance would have to be filed with LEO.
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 LEO, rather than the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), would also be
responsible for the following:
• Making copies of federal occupational safety and health standards available to the
public at no cost.
• Administering and enforcing the federal Hazard Communication Standard in a manner
consistent with federal administration and enforcement. 4
• Periodically distributing public service announcements to newspapers, television
stations, and radio stations throughout Michigan to educate employers, employees, and
the public about the requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard, certain
state-level requirements, and the hazards of exposure to hazardous chemicals.
• Providing copies of safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals to employees.
• Ordering appropriate relief (such as rehire, reinstatement, or back pay) upon receiving
a complaint filed by an employee who suffers a loss of wages or fringe benefits or who
is in any manner discriminated against for refusing to operate equipment or engage in
a process that has been tagged as a source of imminent danger.
• Responding within 24 hours after receiving an imminent danger complaint that
concerns an unknown and unlabeled container of chemicals or concerns a container of
hazardous chemicals that is not labeled or for which a safety data sheet is not available.
Penalties
MIOSHA allows the Board of Health and Safety Compliance and Appeals to assess civil
penalties to employers, taking into consideration the size of the business, the seriousness of the
violation, the good-faith efforts of the employer, and the history of previous citations. The
board can issue a penalty of up to $7,000 for each of the following:
• A citation for a serious violation of MIOSHA or rules, orders or standards promulgated
the act.
• Each day that a failure to correct a violation for which a citation was issued continues
beyond the permitted correction period.
• A citation for a violation of MIOSHA or a rule, order, or standard promulgated under
the act that is specifically determined not to be of a serious nature.
• A violation of a posting requirement under MIOSHA, up to $7,000 for each violation.
For a willful or repeated violation of MIOSHA or a rule, order, or standard promulgated under
the act, the board can currently issue a penalty of up to $70,000 for each violation, but at least
$5,000 for each willful violation.
Under the bill, the board would instead assess a civil penalty for each violation described above
of up to the equivalent federal penalty. If a federal penalty is changed, the LEO director would
have to initiate the processing of an administrative rule to update the penalty within 10 working
days.
Equivalent federal penalty would mean the penalty for a violation of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act, or a standard adopted or promulgated under that act, that is
equivalent or most equivalent to a violation of MIOSHA or a rule or standard
promulgated under MIOSHA. 5
4
See: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1200.
5
The maximum penalties for 2024 can be found here: https://www.osha.gov/penalties/.
House Fiscal Agency SBs 829 and 830 as reported Page 3 of 5
 (Current penalties for a willful violation of MIOSHA or a related order, rule, or standard that
causes the death of an employee, knowingly making a false statement, representation, or
certification in an application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be
maintained pursuant to MIOSHA or fails to maintain or transmit required records or reports of
work illnesses or injuries and chemical exposures, and giving unauthorized advance notice of
an investigation or inspection would not be amended. 6)
Confidentiality
Currently, information reported by or otherwise obtained from an employee in connection with
an inspection, investigation, or proceeding under MIOSHA must be made publicly available
pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), except for information that might reveal
a trade secret or information that identifies (or may lead to the identification of) an employee
who provides information related to a possible MIOSHA violation. Under the bill, reports that
LEO creates and obtains regarding an employer’s request for consultation on occupational
safety and health issues would also be exempt from FOIA disclosure.
Additional provisions
The bill would amend other sections of MIOSHA to reflect LEO’s sole administration and
enforcement authority, remove references to DHHS, LARA, and related officers, and update
references to the Consultation Education and Training (CET) Division and the CET Fund.
MIOSHA currently requires the Board of Health and Safety Compliance and Appeals to hold
quarterly meetings in Lansing. Under the bill, the board’s quarterly meetings would no longer
be required to be held in Lansing.
Finally, the bill would repeal section 35a of the act, which prescribes penalties for MIOSHA
violations that would apply if MIOSHA’s incorporation of federal OSHA standards is ruled to
be unconstitutional and current penalties are repealed. 7
MCL 408.1004 et seq. (amended); MCL 408.1035a (repealed)
Senate Bill 829 would amend the sentencing guidelines chapter of the Code of Criminal
Procedure to remove references to section 35a of MIOSHA, which would be repealed by
Senate Bill 830.
The bill cannot take effect unless SB 830 is also enacted.
MCL 777.14b
6
A willful violation that causes the death of an employee is a felony punishable for a first violation by up to one year’s
imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, and punishable for a repeated violation by up to three years’
imprisonment, a fine of $20,000, or both. Knowingly making a false statement or failing to maintain or transmit
required reports is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six month’s imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
Giving unauthorized notice of an investigation or inspection is a misdemeanor punishably by up to six months’
imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
7
Senate Bill 830 refers to this section as 1035a, rather than 35a.
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BACKGROUND:
Executive Order 2019-13 transferred the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health
Administration and LARA’s authorities, powers, duties, and functions under the Michigan
Occupational Safety and Health Act from LARA to LEO. 8
Michigan is one of 27 states authorized by the federal government to have their own
occupational safety and health regulations and standards. (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands also have their own regulations.) OSHA requires those state plans, including MIOSHA,
to adopt maximum penalty levels that are at least as effective as the federal OSHA penalties.
BRIEF DISCUSSION:
According to Senate and House committee testimony, Michigan is currently one of six states
that have not adopted the most recent OSHA maximum penalties. If Michigan does not become
compliant with the federal penalties, OSHA could take over occupational health and safety
enforcement from the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Supporters
of Senate Bills 829 and 830 suggest that employers would prefer to keep the state-run program
because of greater flexibility and accessibility and warn that, since OSHA only covers private-
sector employees, the 500,000 public sector workers in Michigan would no longer be covered
if OSHA takes over enforcement.
FISCAL IMPACT:
A fiscal analysis is progress.
POSITIONS:
Representatives of the following entities testified in support of the bill (11-14-24):
• Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
• Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The following entities indicated support for the bill (11-14-24):
• Michigan AFL-CIO
• Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Michigan State Conference
• United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876
The following entities indicated opposition to the bill (11-14-24):
• Home Builders Association of Michigan
Legislative Analyst: Holly Kuhn
Fiscal Analysts: Marcus Coffin
Robin Risko
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
8
https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/executiveorder/pdf/2019-EO-13.pdf.
House Fiscal Agency SBs 829 and 830 as reported Page 5 of 5


Statutes affected:
Senate Introduced Bill: 777.14
As Passed by the Senate: 777.14