Summary — HB 5215 (House Bill No. 5215, 2025)
Status / Procedural notes
- Introduced (filed) March 14, 2025. Read first time April 7, 2025 and referred to committee (Public Health). The bill was electronically reproduced November 5, 2025 and reintroduced on November 5, 2025 by Rep. Tom Kuhn and referred to the Committee on Economic Competitiveness.
- The bill would create a new state act prohibiting employer discrimination based on employee candidacy for public office.
Purpose and intent
- To prohibit employers from firing, disciplining, penalizing, threatening, or otherwise discriminating against employees who are candidates for public office or who intend to become candidates, and to protect employees’ candidate‑related activity during nonworking hours.
Key definitions (Sec. 1)
- “Candidate”: as defined in section 3 of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act (1976 PA 388, MCL 169.203).
- “Employee”: any individual employed by an employer.
- “Employer”: any person or entity that employs one or more individuals in Michigan (includes small employers).
- “Person”: broad definition covering individuals, partnerships, corporations, LLCs, associations, governmental entities, and other legal entities.
Primary provisions
- Prohibited actions (Sec. 3): An employer shall not discharge, discipline, penalize, or otherwise discriminate against an employee — or threaten to do so — for either:
- the employee being a candidate or intending to become a candidate, or
- the employee engaging in activity related to being or becoming a candidate during nonworking hours.
- Civil fine (Sec. 5): Violations expose the employer to a civil fine of up to $2,000. The county prosecutor where the violation occurred or the Michigan Attorney General may bring an action to collect the fine.
- Private remedies (Sec. 7): Aggrieved employees may sue civilly to recover damages (including lost wages), seek injunctive relief, or both. Courts must award costs and reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing employee-plaintiff.
- Collective bargaining carve-out (Sec. 9): If a collective bargaining or employment agreement in effect on the act’s effective date conflicts with the act, the act will apply to those parties only after the agreement expires, is terminated, amended, extended, or renewed.
Who is affected
- Employees in Michigan who are or intend to become candidates for public office.
- Employers operating in Michigan (including those with a single employee).
- Unions and employers with existing collective bargaining agreements that conflict with the new protections (those agreements remain effective until expiration or change).
Potential impacts and implementation notes
- Protects political participation by employees outside working hours and prohibits adverse employment actions tied to candidacy intent.
- Creates civil liability (damages and attorney fees) and a modest statutory fine (up to $2,000) enforceable by prosecutors or the AG.
- The bill does not define the scope of “activity related to being or becoming a candidate” beyond referencing the campaign finance act’s candidate definition; practical application may require judicial interpretation.
- No explicit effective date is stated in the provided text; timing would depend on final bill language if enacted.
