Bill
HB 5181
HB 5181 requires mandatory mediation for certain workers’ compensation claims before adjudication, with pre-mediation information, data needs, and post-mediation routing.
Status and sponsors
- Introduced March 14, 2025; bill electronically reproduced and re-introduced October 30, 2025. Read a first time and referred to the Committee on Economic Competitiveness. Primary sponsor: Rep. Emily Dievendorf; multiple cosponsors listed.
- Amends section 847 of the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act (1969 PA 317, MCL 418.847) and adds a new section 224.
Purpose
- To (re)establish a statutory requirement that certain workers’ compensation claims be mediated before further adjudication, clarify mediation procedure, require the agency to provide pre‑mediation information to unrepresented claimants, and set post‑mediation case‑routing rules.
Key provisions
- New Section 224 — Mandatory mediation triggers (subject to sec. 847):
- Mediation is required if any of the following apply:
- The claim covers a definite period and the employee has returned to work.
- The claim is for medical benefits only.
- The claimant is unrepresented by an attorney.
- The Workers’ Compensation Agency determines the claim may be settled by mediation.
- Other claims may be mediated when any party requests it.
- The agency must schedule mediation conferences with proper notice; parties may stipulate to more than one conference.
- Immediately before mediation, the agency must:
- Review the carrier’s response with the employee.
- Provide the employee a clear, concise explanation of rights/responsibilities and a reasonable estimate of the maximum benefits the employee could obtain and likely attorney fees/costs.
- Employers/carriers must provide sufficient, reliable data to enable the agency to prepare that estimate.
- If mediation fails:
- Claims for $10,000.00 or less are referred to the agency’s small claims division unless the claimant opts for assignment to a magistrate under sec. 847.
- Claims over $10,000.00 are assigned to a magistrate under sec. 847.
- A willful failure to comply with the mediation requirement bars the non‑complying party from proceeding under the act.
Who is affected
- Claimants (especially unrepresented workers and those seeking medical‑only or definite‑period benefits): increased likelihood of mediation before hearing, with an agency-provided benefits estimate.
- Employers and insurance carriers: required to supply data pre‑mediation and engage in mediation; exposure to sanctions (loss of ability to proceed) for willful noncompliance.
- Attorneys: fewer immediate hearings in certain claim categories; potential shift of smaller claims to small claims division.
- Michigan Workers’ Compensation Agency and magistrates: increased mediation scheduling responsibility and documentation duties.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Mediation must be scheduled by the agency upon proper notice; parties may have more than one mediation session by agreement.
- If mediation fails, cases route to small claims division (≤ $10,000) or to a magistrate (> $10,000).
- The bar for willful failure to mediate is a significant procedural consequence and may alter litigants’ strategic behavior.
Potential impacts
- Could reduce formal hearings and speed resolution for medical‑only and returned‑to‑work claims; may increase early settlements.
- Imposes administrative burdens on the agency and carriers (data provision, scheduling, preparing benefit estimates).
- The statutory bar on proceeding for willful noncompliance is a strong enforcement tool that may be controversial in practice.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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