Michigan lawmakers approve extension of unemployment benefits, new nursing home rules

The process, especially finding common ground on bills that protect employers against lawsuits, was a struggle.

The measures come as Republicans fight Whitmer and her fellow Democrats on a number of fronts. From calls to mandate masks and ban guns at the statehouse to House Speaker Lee Chatfield questioning why the governor did not tell him or others about the specifics of a thwarted kidnapping plot, the possibility of collaboration appeared fraught heading into Tuesday's session.

Rep. Beau LaFave, a Upper Peninsula Republican who announced in late September he'd tested positive for COVID-19, joined several of his colleagues in not wearing a mask on the House floor. West Michigan Democratic Rep. David Lagrand wore a mask and a bullet-proof vest, the bulk clearly visible through his dress shirt.

Yet the need for any legislation is significant, underscored by recent Michigan Supreme Court rulings that effectively ended Whitmer's executive orders aimed at curtailing the pandemic and its impact.

As of this week, more than 130,000 residents have tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of residents have applied for unemployment assistance, with thousands of businesses also seeking financial aid.

At the end of the long day, the House and Senate passed a series of bills with three issues taking center stage -- unemployment benefits, nursing homes and legal protections from pandemic-related lawsuits for businesses.

One measure, SB 886, extends to 26 weeks the amount of unemployment insurance available this year due to a job loss related to COVID-19. That was the same amount of time available under the governor's executive order -- this bill also clarifies that the state can't re-examine any unemployment claim based on it being filed under an executive order now deemed invalid.

The bill also loosens the requirements a business would need to meet in order to institute a work share program, an initiative that reduces employee hours but avoids mass layoffs.

The updated measure passed unanimously in both chambers.

Another bill, SB 1094, would require state health officials to examine COVID-19 policies at nursing homes and how they have been implemented. Although a portion of the bill states no patient who tests positive for COVID-19 may be sent to a nursing home, a different portion of the legislation states a nursing home may take a patient with the virus if the home has a state-approved area within the facility for people with the disease caused by the coronavirus.

But the real fight hinged on measures that would provide a liability shield for businesses and a quirky Senate procedural move.

More: Bills OK'd by Michigan House protect employers from COVID-19 lawsuits