March 13, 2008, Introduced by Reps. Coulouris, Bieda, Polidori, Corriveau, Accavitti, Virgil Smith, Meadows, Wojno, Kathleen Law, Leland, Johnson, Jackson, Condino, Dean and Hammon and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1985 PA 87, entitled
"William Van Regenmorter crime victim's rights act,"
by amending section 50 (MCL 780.800), as added by 1988 PA 22, and
by adding section 40a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 40a. (1) An employee who is a victim is entitled to a
total of not more than 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-
month period to attend the trial or other court proceeding of the
defendant.
(2) An employee shall provide his or her employer with all of
the following if requesting unpaid leave under this section:
(a) Reasonable notice of the date, time, and anticipated
duration of the trial or court proceeding for which unpaid leave is
sought.
(b) A statement from the prosecuting attorney confirming that
the employee is a victim. The statement required under this
subdivision shall be in a form prescribed by the department of
attorney general.
(3) An employee who is granted unpaid leave under this section
shall provide his or her employer with a statement from the clerk
of the court in which the trial or court proceeding occurred
confirming the date and time that the employee attended the trial
or court proceeding. The statement required under this subsection
shall be in a form prescribed by the department of attorney
general.
(4) An employer shall not discharge an employee for, or
prohibit or discourage an employee from, requesting unpaid leave
under this section. An employer who violates this subsection is
liable to an employee in a civil action for all damages incurred,
including reasonable attorney fees.
(5) An employee who is a victim shall not lose seniority and
other rights and benefits that are determined by seniority for
using leave time to attend a trial or other court proceeding of the
defendant.
(6) As used in this section:
(a) "Employee" means a person who performs a service for wages
or other remuneration under a contract of hire, written or oral,
express or implied. Employee includes a person employed by this
state or a political subdivision of this state, except state
classified civil service.
(b) "Employer" means a person who has 25 or more employees.
Employer includes an agent of an employer in this state or a
political subdivision of this state.
Sec.
50. Nothing in this article shall be construed as
creating
Except as provided in section
40a, this article does not
create a cause of action for money damages against the state, a
county,
or a municipality or any of their its agencies,
instrumentalities, or employees.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless all of the following bills of the 94th Legislature are
enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5900(request no.
06379'08 *).
(b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5901(request no.
06590'08).