Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation
Tuesday that would allow for the denial of unemployment benefits to someone if
they failed or refused a drug test needed for employment and had a job offer
revoked by a potential employer. House
Bill 4952, now Public Act 146 of 2013, will go into effect immediately.
Also signed were a few other bills that would
make changes to the unemployment system, including:
- Requiring
the cancellation of benefits as of the date a claimant intentionally made
a false statement, misrepresentation or concealed material information,
instead of when the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) receives notice of
that activity (HB
4949, PA 147, immediate effect)
- Mandating
benefits be charged to an employer’s account if the employer had a pattern
of failing to respond with timely or adequate information, as requested or
required by the UIA, and benefits were paid due to that failure (HB
4950, PA 142, immediate effect)
- Changing
the allocation of money recovered by the UIA in cases of willful
violations (HB
4951, PA 153, immediate effect)
- Altering
some technical aspects of UIA investigations (HB
4953, PA 144, immediate effect)
Democrats have said that HB 4952 creates a
double standard for the unemployed because those that have their salaries paid
with public money, such as legislators, do not have to take drug tests.