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HB 4288

Public employees and officers: state; hiring practices based on anything other than the merit of the prospective employee; prohibit. Creates new act.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Greg Alexander and 83 co-sponsors

Requires merit-based hiring for unclassified state jobs in executive agencies, barring non-merit criteria, with fines up to $10,000 per violation.

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
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Bill Summary · HB 4288

Summary — HB 4288 (Michigan)

Status: Passed House May 1, 2025 (105–1); given immediate effect by House. Referred to Committee on Government Operations (May 6, 2025). Introduced/filed March 2025 by Rep. Erin Byrnes. Substitute (H‑1) adopted.

Purpose

To require merit-based hiring for unclassified state positions by executive-branch agencies and to prohibit hiring decisions based on factors other than objective, merit-based criteria. The bill creates a new statutory prohibition and prescribes civil penalties for violations.

Key provisions

  • Hiring standard: A state agency may not hire an applicant for unclassified employment unless the hiring is based on one or more objective, merit‑based factors that include, at minimum, the applicant’s relevant education or work experience. The statutory text uses “include, but are not limited to,” allowing other objective merit factors.
  • Scope
    • “State agency” — an agency, board, bureau, commission, department, or office within the executive branch.
    • “Unclassified employment” — positions in state service that are excepted from the classified civil service under Article XI, Section 5 of the Michigan Constitution (1963).
  • Veterans preference: The requirement is subject to the veteran preference for public appointment and employment under section 1 of 1897 PA 205 (MCL 35.401).
  • Penalty and enforcement: A state agency that violates the act is liable for a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation. The Attorney General may bring an action to collect fines. Collected fines must be deposited into the state general fund.
  • Fiscal notes (House Fiscal Agency): Neutral fiscal impact for the state overall; indeterminate fiscal impact on local courts (dependent on caseloads). Under existing law, $10 of any civil fine is deposited into the state Justice System Fund.

Who is affected

  • Directly: Executive-branch state agencies and boards that make hires to unclassified positions.
  • Indirectly: Applicants for unclassified state positions (hiring processes and selection criteria), veterans (protected by statutory preference), and state budget/treasury (fine revenue flows).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Introduced and filed in March 2025 (filed March 11; introduced March 25).
  • Substitute (H‑1) considered and adopted in committee and on the House floor.
  • Passed the House on May 1, 2025 (Roll Call #80 — Yeas 105, Nays 1); transmitted and referred to the Committee on Government Operations on May 6, 2025. Further action in the other chamber is required for enactment.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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