HB-5672, as passed by the House on June 24, 2020 (Introduced by Reps. Kahle, Reilly, LaGrand and Rendon) is NOT as good as they claim it is! With it’s current language, HB 5672 is HORRIBLE and does NOT protect employees against micro-chipping. Section 3 of HB 5672 allows an employer to fire you for not getting the micro chip implanted if there is a court order directing people to be micro-chipped. Also, section 4 severely limits the amount an employee can recover from an employer who illegally requires them to implant a microchip (no punitive or statutory damages allowed, only “actual damages” proven dollar for dollar by the employee). This is the actual bill: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/billengrossed/House/pdf/2020-HEBH-5672.pdf
If they removed subsection 3 of section 3, AND added punitive and statutory damages to what an employee may recover in section 4, it would be a good bill. But as it is currently written, it is just awful for freedom.
The language of the bill states that “An employer may, as a condition of employment, as a condition of employment in a particular position, or as a condition of receiving additional compensation or other benefits, require an employee or prospective employee to comply with a court order that directs the employee or prospective employee to take an action described in subsection (1). [Subsection (1) includes having to:] (a) Implant, or undergo a procedure to implant, a device in the employee’s or prospective employee’s body. (b) Inject, or receive an injection of, a device into the employee’s or prospective employee’s body. (c) Ingest, inhale, or otherwise incorporate a device into the employee’s or prospective employee’s body.”
So, while requiring an individual to implant, inject, or ingest a device is ENTIRELY unconstitutional, the legislature passed this bill ALLOWING employers to force employees to do so, as long as a court has ordered it. So, as long as a court orders this unconstitutional invasion of an individuals’ body, the legislature fully supports it!
Further, the bill only allows for actual damages, Court costs and reasonable attorney fees, and an order enjoining (stopping) further violations. This means that when you are fired for refusing to get a device (microchip, etc.) injected into your body, you can only get the exact amount you can prove you have lost as a direct result of that. Punitive damages (to emphasize to potential violators that this kind of requirement placed on employees will NOT be tolerated), and statutory damages (which is a dollar amount the legislature sets to make it easier for the aggrieved party to collect money damages from an illegal act by the other party – in other words, the aggrieved party only has to show that the other party violated this law, and doesn’t require them to have to prove the specific dollar amount they are out) could easily have been included in this bill, but they were not.
So, not only does the bill allow for the unconstitutional invasion of a person’s body by their employer, but it also severely limits the amount of damages an aggrieved employee may receive when they sue their employer over it.
CALL and EMAIL your state representative AND your state senator to tell them this unconstitutional invasion of our bodies will NOT be tolerated!
To see the full bill as passed by the House, please see: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/billengrossed/House/pdf/2020-HEBH-5672.pdf
