Reopen Michigan Safely Coalition Calls on Whitmer to #EndTheOfficeBan on April 14th
New coalition of Michigan’s job creators says Whitmer should update MIOSHA emergency rules to empower businesses that follow established safety protocols to reopen
LANSING – In anticipation of the April 14th expiration of Michigan Occupational Safety and
Administration (MIOSHA) emergency rules that prohibit the reopening of business office
spaces, the Reopen Michigan Safely coalition today called on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
to #EndTheOfficeBan and allow job creators and employees across all industries to work
together toward reopening safely.
Reopen Michigan Safely is a newly formed coalition of business leaders focused on reenergizing
Michigan’s economy. The group was started by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Grand
Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Traverse Connect, Lansing Regional Chamber of
Commerce, Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of
Commerce, Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce and Southern Wayne County Chamber of
Commerce.
The coalition is sounding the alarm that Michigan jobs are being permanently lost due to
current restrictions, and is asking others to join the movement to reopen Michigan now.
“It is time to safely reopen Michigan for business,” said Michigan Chamber of Commerce
President and CEO Rich Studley. “With the widespread distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and a
substantial decrease in COVID caseloads, it is time for state government to be more proactive
about saving jobs and allowing businesses to reopen. Given everything we have learned over
the last year, it is time to let job creators and employees put that information to work and
safely reopen our offices and other businesses.”
While the coalition is pressing for a full, and safe, reopening of all Michigan businesses, a
pressing issue is the rapidly approaching April 14th expiration of Whitmer’s MIOSHA emergency
orders that ban most in-person office work. Citing a provision under Michigan law, Whitmer
initially implemented the rules for a six-month period.
Now that the six months are nearly up, the Governor is weighing whether to unilaterally extend
the rules for an additional six months. That decision point is approaching rapidly.
Originally signed last October, Whitmer’s MIOSHA emergency rules provide extensive protocols
for operating safely but prohibit most in-person work. This means businesses and employers
are barred from finding ways to safely reopen offices in ways that will keep our jobs and
economy alive. The rules state that, “The employer shall create a policy prohibiting in-person
work for employees to the extent that their work activities can feasibly be completed
remotely.”
Scott Ryan, Vice President and General Counsel of Gentex, a Zeeland-based company that
provides custom, high-tech electronic products for the automotive, aerospace and commercial
fire protection industries, said current restrictions are holding our economy back.
“Michigan’s remote working requirement has curtailed new product development efforts,
hampered our ability to respond to operational concerns, negatively affected our ability to
compete, and left many office employees battling isolation and depression,” said Ryan. “We’ve
done the hard work to protect our employees and working together to get back to our offices
safely is a major priority for us.”
Members of the coalition concur and strongly encourage the governor to work with and trust
job creators and employees to reopen safely.
“Offices are some of our most safe, low-risk and controllable environments,” said Saginaw
County Chamber of Commerce CEO Veronica Horn. “A balanced approach to reopening
Michigan would require employers to have the proper safety measures in place but then allow
employers to craft plans for returning safely to the office in a way that works best for their
employees, work environment and comfortability.”
Michigan has one of the most crippling set of restrictions in the United States on in-person
work, with the overwhelming majority of states leaving these decisions in the hands of
employers and employees, as long as they implement safety protocols. For example, while
Michigan continues to restrict in-person dining in restaurants, no other state in the Midwest
has such restrictions on these small businesses.
National studies suggest that employers and employees alike are eager to return to offices to
increase teamwork, collaboration and innovation, while alleviating the mental stress and
isolation employees have been experiencing while working from home full time.
Michigan’s downtown business districts and city governments are also under great strain.
“Our downtown business districts depend on the patronage of thousands of office workers who
work in our city centers every day,” said Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce President
and CEO Tim Daman. “Without them, city buildings and parking structures remain deserted and
restaurants, coffee houses and shops remain closed or on the brink of bankruptcy. It is time to
allow the option of reopening offices and other businesses safely.”
“Many of our cities are now facing multi-million dollar budgetary shortfalls in large part due to
Michigan’s work from home requirements,” said Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
CEO Rick Baker. “The effects of employees staying home have caused once-vibrant downtowns
and urban areas to lose businesses and jobs. It’s time to change course.”
“Our restaurants and retail establishments have suffered greatly as a result of the current
workfrom-home mandates, and further extending the order will lead directly to more local
businesses failing,” said Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber President Joe Bauman. “Many of
our member businesses have greatly reduced staff and slashed their hours of operation as a
result of losing all of the customers generated from a robust office sector and are literally
hanging on by a thread. Our employers and employees should be given the right to create a
safe work environment following federal guidelines and determine for themselves what is the
best operating practice for their individual business.”
“As we carefully and cautiously consider a reentry to the workplace, we can move from “stay
safe, stay healthy and stay home” to “stay together for a solution,” said Battle Creek Area
Chamber of Commerce President Kara Beer. “We are eagerly advocating for a clear plan to
bring back our workforces to the office for in-person work safely, increase teamwork,
collaboration and innovation all while reducing the mental stress and isolation employees have
been experiencing for the past year working from home.”
“Along with our friends from around the state, Downriver’s employers, entrepreneurs,
residents, and workforce have experienced tremendous pain and challenges that have come
with the onset of the ongoing pandemic and uncertain economic times,” commented Southern
Wayne County Regional Chamber president/CEO Ronald J. Hinrichs. “Although we applaud the
Administration for their early and ongoing efforts to keep us all safe from COVID-19, the current
remote work policy required for most of our state’s visionaries, doers, and community investors
is having a lasting and detrimental impact that is disastrous to the livelihood, mental health,
and ability for all to prosper and thrive.
“We must all work together in a united and dynamic way to safely and effectively reopen
economic activity that will drive growth and opportunity in our communities, and ensure a
prosperous and healthy environment for our citizens and the generations that will follow.
Effective distribution of vaccines, coincided with safely reopening our workplaces, and allowing
caring and committed business leaders and talent to work hand in hand with our elected
leadership to move our State forward is essential. As one united community of Michiganders,
together we will get this done,” Hinrichs concluded.
“Northern Michigan runs on small businesses in diverse industries, and all play an integral role
in our economic recovery. Every kind of business, from retail to office, should have the ability to
open and operate with the proper safety protocol in place,” said Warren Call, president & CEO
of Traverse Connect.
Learn more
The Reopen Michigan Safely coalition can be found online at www.ReopenMichiganSafely.com,
on Facebook at facebook.com/reopenmichigansafely and Twitter at @ReopenMISafely.
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