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Legislative Accomplishments of 2002
Escheats
Public Act 677 of 2002 exempts abandoned payroll wages valued at $50 or less from the Michigan Unclaimed Property Act. Employers are still required to escheat unclaimed wages valued at greater than $50 to the Department of Treasury after being unclaimed for one-year.
Citing Servers for Serving Minors
Public Act 725 of 2002 requires that servers be cited for selling or serving minor alcohol if the establishment where the alcohol was sold is cited for the violation.
Unemployment Insurance
P.A. 192 of 2002 provides unemployed workers an inflationary increase in the maximum weekly benefit and implemented many reforms that the employer community had sought.
Consumer Advisories
P.A. 487 of 2002 provides additional guidance and options for operators and regulators regarding use and placement of consumer advisories.
Vertical Driver Licenses
P.A. 554 of 2002 creates a new vertical format for driver's licenses issued to minors. The vertical format of the licenses will indicate to clerks and servers that the person is a minor and decrease illegal sales of alcohol to minors.
Service Charges
The MRA defeated legislation that would have required establishments to post "service charge" policies in their menus and what percent of service charges were actually paid to staff.
Minimum Wage Increase
The MRA successfully prevented the Legislature from enacting a minimum wage increase including annual indexing of the rate.
Mandatory Rest Periods
The MRA successfully prevented legislation from requiring employers to provide mandatory meal and rest periods while working.
Public Availability of Inspections
The MRA prevented legislation that would have required operators to make their health inspection reports available to customers upon request.
Gift Certificates
The MRA prevented legislation establishing a minimum expiration date of one-year from the date of issuance for gift certificates or cards and making it a crime to issue a gift certificate or card if the owner has reason to know that the business will be closing or sold within one year.
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