Posts by Ron Hinrichs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 7, 2023

Kelly Dwyer, President/Owner

Michigan Memorial Park

734-782-2473

[email protected]

www.MiMemorial.com

Michigan Memorial Park Earns National “Cemetery of the Year” Honors

Flat Rock, MI – Michigan Memorial Park was recently honored with the prestigious Cemetery Excellence Award by American Cemetery & Cremation, a national organization. With over 20,000 registered cemeteries across the US, only one is selected for their highest honor.

Michigan Memorial Park, located in Flat Rock, Michigan, was selected based on tough criteria by their peers which included overall park aesthetics, innovations, superior maintenance, and a responsive management team and staff.

“We are very proud of the people who work here and the dedication and compassion that they bring to work every day. We are extremely honored to receive the Cemetery of the Year Award and we will continue to serve our community with the highest standards of excellence and integrity,” says Kelly Dwyer, President/Owner of Michigan Memorial Park.

For nearly a century, Michigan Memorial Park, situated on 290 acres along the banks of the Huron River, has been the premier cemetery for the Downriver community. Michigan Memorial Park is known for maintaining the highest standards of service, impeccable ground maintenance and community involvement.   Their first-rate reputation has been earned by all four generations of this family owned and operated establishment.

Michigan Memorial Park is also one of the most innovative cemetery parks in the nation, constantly evolving with future trends while maintaining their elegant historical flavor.

Michigan Memorial Park is a non-denominational cemetery, serving the rites and rituals of the people in their community, although they do have a designated, consecrated Catholic burial area featuring one of the largest bronze crucifixes in the country.  Other notable Park landmarks include the 35-foot-tall Lighthouse with burial niches on the banks of the Huron River with a working beacon, the Garden of Angels Mausoleum, the Shrine of Remembrance Mausoleum, the Butterfly Memorial Garden, The Oaks Complex, and The Eternal Flame honoring our Veterans.

Since its inception, the owners of Michigan Memorial Park and Michigan Memorial Funeral Home have been leaders in the community supporting many non-profit organizations by hosting community blood drives, food and clothing drives, fishing derbies for children with disabilities, a vigil for those that have lost children, a walking club, and a free lending library.

Although their companies are separately owned and operated, Michigan Memorial Park, Michigan Memorial Funeral Home, “The Witness Crematory” and the on-site Flower Shop, all give families united, high-quality service and assistance, when it is needed most.

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Courtesy of ASE

 

• Unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk workers should maintain at least 6 feet of distance from others at all times, including on breaks.
• Employers should provide visual cues (e.g., floor markings, signs) as a reminder to maintain physical distancing.  
• Employers should stagger workers’ arrival and departure times to avoid congregations of unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk in parking areas, locker rooms.
  
• Employers should stagger break times or provide temporary break areas and restrooms to avoid groups of unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk workers congregating during breaks.
  
• Employers should implement strategies (tailored to your workplace) to improve ventilation that protects workers as outlined in the CDC’s Ventilation in Buildings guidance and in the OSHA Alert, COVID-19 Guidance on Ventilation in the Workplace.

The ETS is an interim final regulation and is requesting comments on all aspects of the rule, including whether it should be made a final rule, within 30 days of the date the regulation is formally published in the Federal Register. The rule has not yet been published in the Register.  Specifically, the ETS requires employers in the health care sector to maintain social distancing protocols, make sure that patients are properly screened for virus symptoms, and give workers paid time off to get vaccinated and recover from vaccine side effects.  Further, health care employers also will be required to craft a virus safety plan that includes specific components and must be written if more than 10 workers are employed.  In addition, covered employers must screen workers prior to their shifts, provide masks and other personal protective equipment to employees for use in certain high-risk situations, ensure that masks are worn indoors and changed daily, and put in place ventilation procedures when dealing with patients who may have the virus, among other things.  However, the ETS also says that fully vaccinated health care workers do not have to wear masks or adhere to masking or distancing requirements if they are in “well-defined areas where all employees are fully vaccinated” and where people who have or could potentially have the virus aren’t reasonably expected to be present.  Finally, the rule includes a carveout for certain workplaces where all workers must be fully vaccinated or risk termination.

CONTACT: John Sellek, Harbor Strategic [email protected] 517-348-5152

Michigan Businesses Stop MIOSHA’s Temporary Rules From Becoming a Permanent Burden, Now Free to Pursue a True Reopening

The Reopen Michigan Safely coalition, set to oppose MIOSHA’s permanent COVID-19 rules en masse next week, says Gov. Whitmer’s withdrawal now allows Michigan job creators and employees to fully restart our economy

LANSING – The Reopen Michigan Safely coalition, representing tens of thousands of businesses and countless jobs, said today that job creators can finally move toward fully reopening without unnecessary government rules now that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will withdraw MIOSHA’s proposal to make emergency workplace rules a permanent burden on our economy. Earlier this week, members of the coalition asked MIOSHA for the permanent rules proposal to be rescinded and emergency rules to be addended or rescinded prior to the scheduled MIOSHA public hearing on May 26th. Additionally, coalition member businesses have submitted thousands of comments in opposition and were set to offer “in-person” testimony during hearing. The Reopen Michigan Safely coalition was created on March 4th and grew to include 59 Michigan business organizations. The coalition successfully brought Whitmer’s ban on in-person office work and other heavy-handed rules limiting Michigan’s economic rebound to the forefront. These rules damaged businesses, employee mental health, downtowns and local governments, making Michigan far less competitive versus than neighboring states. Since our effort began, Gov. Whitmer announced that in-person work could resume. However, MIOSHA, which she oversees, had unreasonably continued forward with its proposal to turn what were temporary, emergency COVID-19 workplace rules into permanent, burdensome rules. Examples of why the inflexible permanent proposal is unworkable erupted immediately as the state’s rules could not keep up with scientifically-based changes in masking and distancing requirements set forth by the CDC. Additional problems included: Michigan is no longer in an emergency situation, so these rules should not continue. State government must start supporting and trusting job creators and employees to work together toward safe reopen strategies that best suit their situations, without a permanent new set of government regulations and especially as COVID cases are trending downward. The proposal sets up a permanent, overly-detailed government oversight situation negatively impacting the daily operation of struggling businesses, including offices, construction, restaurants, manufacturing, retail, libraries, museums and more. MIOSHA is attempting to continue its ban on most in-person office work by requiring that businesses “shall create a policy promoting remote work for employees to the extent that their work activities can feasibly be completed remotely.” The proposal does not include an expiration/sunset date.   Comments from the Reopen Michigan Safely coalition:     Wendy Block, Vice President of Business Advocacy and Member Engagement for the Michigan Chamber: “COVID cases in Michigan are trending down, vaccination rates are up and governors across the country are moving more decisively to safely reopen their states.  Finally, the Whitmer administration heard the call of Michigan job creators and withdraw MIOSHA’s proposed permanent rules thereby signaling we are on the road to more fully reopening Michigan’s economy and releasing employers and employees alike from endless rounds of confusing rules and regulations.”     Joe Bauman, President, Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber: “The permanent rules as proposed represented misguided policy and did not reflect where the state of Michigan is in combatting the Covid-19 virus,” said Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber President Joe Bauman. “We are pleased the state appears to be moving away from these onerous restrictions and look forward to once again allowing employers and employees the opportunity to determine work rules and other important issues while always keeping employee safety top of mind.  We need to fully re-open the state to allow our central business districts and main streets  which have borne the brunt of the pain from these past policies to begin rebuilding their businesses so they can be successful going forward.” Tim Daman, President & CEO, Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce: “We are pleased with the decision to remove the final restrictions and fully reopen our economy. This action provides much needed certainty for employers as they plan for a return to in-person work and office reopening’s. We look forward to a new chapter in emerging from this pandemic and continuing to support our region and state relaunch, reopen and reengage.” Dave Worthams, Director of Human Resource Policy, Michigan Manufacturers Association: “We appreciate that it appears Governor Whitmer and MIOSHA Director Bart Pickelman have decided to change the current MIOSHA Emergency Workplace Standard and the proposed permanent COVID-19 Workplace Standard to reflect the changes in CDC Vaccine guidance and her own MI VACC to Normal plan.  We look forward to seeing the final language so we can determine how it will impact Michigan manufacturers and our employees.   At the end day, we know COVID-19 vaccines work and the need for a permanent workplace standard becomes less and less as Michiganders continue to do their part.  For us to remain competitive with other states, and indeed with the rest of the world, it is vital for state government to empower employers and employees to act in line with the science and the recommendation of the CDC, rather than to craft unnecessary and burdensome rules that hinder us from doing so.” Charles Owens, NFIB Michigan State Director: “We are thankful to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader for bringing the governor to the table and pursuing the withdrawal of these MIOSHA COVID-19 permanent rules. Small businesses can finally stay focused on getting back to normal and not trying to decipher mixed messages from state agencies on how they must comply.” Ronald Hinrichs, President & CEO, Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber:  “We are encouraged to learn that the Governor and our legislative leaders have come together to find common ground, and that the Administration will withdraw the proposed permanent MIOSHA regulations which would have been disastrous for our State’s employers, communities, and workforce. Although there is much more to do, including amending various provisions within and ultimately rescinding the current MIOSHA emergency workplace regulations, we agree that this is a step in the right direction. As we unite to save Michigan’s downtowns, municipalities, small businesses, and jobs, we are looking forward to learning more about this new agreement, and seeing further partnership between our leaders that will lead to prosperous days ahead.” Jimmy Greene, President, ABC of Michigan: “ABC Michigan appreciates that our elected leaders are working together to get Michigan reopened!” Wes Graff, President, Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce: “In a new post-pandemic world, I’m confident businesses and employees will conquer together any remaining and future challenges posed by COVID-19. Without permanent COVID restrictions looming in front of us, we now have an open road ahead to accelerate the Michigan economy.Kirstie Sieloff, Director of Government Relations for the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance and Traverse Connect:  “We commend our decision-makers for listening to businesses and setting us on a clear path to economic recovery. The agreement to rescind the proposed permanent MIOSHA rules adds Michigan to the growing list of states open for business.” Warren Call, President & CEO of Traverse Connect: “Businesses have the experience and tools to keep employees and patrons safe, and now Michigan can join the rest of the country in continuing our collective economic recovery. The agreement to rescind the proposed permanent MIOSHA rules is a great example of advocacy resulting in action, and we applaud our decision-makers for listening to our employers.” Learn more: facebook.com/reopenmichigansafely twitter.com/reopenmisafely reopenmichigansafely.com # # #

NOTICE TO EMPLOYERS ON HOW TO REPORT A REFUSAL OF WORK
The Michigan Employment Security Act, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Continued Assistance Act (CAA) require individuals collecting unemployment insurance benefits to be available for suitable work and accept an offer of suitable work. In situations where an employer makes a bona fide offer of work to an employee or to return to their customary employment, the employee may lose unemployment benefits if he or she refuses to return to suitable work without good cause.

Wages, workplace safety, and other factors are considered in determining whether work is “suitable.” Employers must follow current state and federal requirements and guidance to maintain a safe workplace in general and due to COVID-19 pandemic. This includes adhering to the following Michigan laws:

• Michigan Stay Home, Stay Safe Orders
• Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MiOSHA) guidelines
• Michigan Safe Start Plan

Suitable Work
It is not considered suitable work if the employer is unable or unwilling to provide a safe workplace required by current state and federal law and guidance. The burden of proof is on the employer to prove that the workplace is safe and in compliance with appropriate workplace safety laws and guidelines.

Refusal of Suitable Work
The following criteria must be taken into consideration in determining whether the offered work is suitable:

• Claimant’s physical fitness for the job
• Degree of risk to the claimant’s health, safety, and morals
• Claimant’s prior training and work experience
• Length of the claimant’s unemployment
• Claimant’s prospects for securing work in his/her customary occupation
• Distance of work from claimant’s residence
• Claimant’s prior earnings
• Workplace safety conditions

An individual who refuses an offer of work that is determined to be suitable will be denied benefits if the pay rate for that work is at least 70% of the gross pay rate received immediately before becoming unemployed.

After collecting half (50%) of the worker’s entitled weeks, an unemployed worker must apply for, and accept work even if the work is outside of his or her past training and experience, or unsuitable as to the pay rate, as long as the pay is at least:

1. 120% of the individual’s weekly benefit amount (WBA);
2. The average wage for the particular work in the locality where the job is offered; and
3. The state minimum hourly wage (currently $9.65 an hour).

Good cause for refusing suitable work.
In general, employees who refuse suitable work without good cause can lose unemployment benefits. However, in accordance with current federal and state laws and guidance, workers may have good cause to refuse work in light of COVID-19 in the following situations:

• The individual’s normally available transportation is now unavailable.
  • This includes, but is not limited to, if public transportation or ride-sharing services are reduced or eliminated due to COVID-19 or for another reason.
  • For claimants receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), the individual’s normally available transportation must be unavailable due to a quarantine related to COVID-19 only.

• The individual is under self-isolation or self-quarantine in response to elevated risk from COVID-19 due to being immune-compromised. Examples of high risk include but are not limited to:
  • Older adults (age 65 and older), and those who are pregnant.
  • Those with specific disease or chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, lung disease, chronic liver disease undergoing dialysis, severe obesity, diabetes, malnutrition, and certain genetic disorders.
  • Those with specific medications or treatments such as steroids, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, dialysis, stem cell, bone marrow, or organ transplant.

• The individual or household member has displayed at least one of the principal symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, atypical cough, and atypical shortness of breath.
  • Individuals must either have a positive COVID-19 test, have a COVID-19 diagnosis from a medical professional, or be seeking a COVID-19 diagnosis.

• The individual has had contact in the last 14 days with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
  • Contact for the purposes of healthcare exposures is defined as follows:
    • Being within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of a person with COVID-19 for a prolonged period, without appropriate personal protective equipment consistent with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recommendations; or
    • Having unprotected direct contact with infectious secretions or excretions of the patient (e.g., being coughed on, touching used tissues with a bare hand).

• The individual recovered from COVID-19, but it caused medical complications temporarily rendering the individual unable to perform essential job duties.

• The individual is required to care for someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.

• If an individual’s customary childcare is no longer available due to COVID-19, the individual must seek “reasonable” alternatives to childcare. If an individual cannot find “reasonable” alternatives to childcare, the individual may remain eligible for unemployment benefits. UIA will consider if alternative childcare is “reasonable” compared to the pre-COVID-19 childcare for an individual’s family. Factors for reasonableness of alternative childcare include:
  • Whether the individual has documented attempts to secure alternative childcare. Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Inquiries and/or applications to alternative provider.
  • Availability of alternative childcare.
  • Placement on a waitlist(s) for alternative childcare but cannot secure alternative childcare due to providers’ limitation on capacity.
  • Distance from an individual’s home to pre-COVID-19 childcare compared to the distance from an individual’s home to alternative childcare.
  • Cost of alternative childcare compared to pre-COVID-19 childcare. Reasonableness usually will not apply to the curriculum of childcare, absent a showing that a child requires a specific curriculum for a medically documented reason(s). For example, a child with special needs requires specific childcare arrangements.
  • Reasonable childcare includes childcare operational and in compliance with Executive Orders and LARA requirements, including disaster relief childcare centers authorized by Executive Order.

• The individual has a family care responsibility as a result of COVID-19. This includes whether the individual must miss work either to take care of children if the school is closed, or if customary summer child-care arrangements are closed due to a government directive or COVID-19.

• The individual has a reasonable belief that the workplace is unsafe or not in compliance with state or federal safety guidance and law. If an employer claims that a workplace is “suitable” because it meets state and federal workplace safety requirements, the employee may still have “good cause” to refuse that work if the employee can establish that he or she has a reasonable belief that the workplace does not meet safety requirements. Merely being afraid to return to work is not good cause.

Reporting an Employee Refusing to Return to Work
Both employers and employees have an obligation to report offers and refusals of suitable work to the UIA. Employees should notify UIA during their biweekly certification if they have refused an offer of work.
If an employee refuses an offer of suitable work, the employer can notify UIA in one of the following ways:

1. A new “Return to Work” link will be available in MiWAM to report a claimant’s “Refusal to Return to Work.” Visit www.michigan.gov/uia and log into your MiWAM account.
2. The new “Report Refusal of Offer to Work/Return to Work” link will also be available at UIA Home Page at www.michigan.gov/uia.

Due to high call volumes, employers are encouraged to submit correspondence online. Employers should also review Fact Sheet # 144C, COVID-19: Unemployment Compensation Benefits Returning to Work and Refusal to Work – Information for Employers, for additional information on how to report, or submit a protest of, an employee’s refusal to work.

If an employer makes an offer of suitable work or to return to work that is refused, then the UIA will conduct fact-finding into the situation. If UIA finds that the employee did not have good cause to refuse work or to return to work, the employee will not be eligible for further unemployment benefits and may have to repay unemployment benefits already received. If UIA finds that the employee did have good cause to refuse to return to work, the employee will continue to be eligible for future unemployment benefits and will not have to pay back unemployment benefits.

When addressing refusal of work, UIA must ensure that the employer made a bona fide offer of work to the claimant. In determining whether there was a bona fide offer of work, the employer must have made a genuine offer of work, and the offer must have been successfully conveyed to the claimant, for example, by telephone, in person, by email, or by mail. The offer must also have been for a specific job and must have been available to the claimant. A record of the documented offer should be maintained and contain details, for example, job title and duties, starting pay, hours of work, location, compliance with state and federal law and guidance on workplace safety, etc. Providing a “sign up” sheet for workers to use in responding to a generalized offer is not sufficient to constitute a bona fide job offer to a specific worker.

If you have questions, visit www.michigan.gov/uia for tools and resources. You can also access your MiWAM account to chat with an agent Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Visit our website for hours of operation. TTY service is available at 866-366-0004. You can also contact Customer Service at 1-866-500-0017, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency