Michigan: COVID Liability Bill Heading to Governor

The Michigan Legislature has passed a bill relating to protecting various groups, industries, and people from liability for claims relating to exposure to COVID-19.  It will likely be transmitted to the governor very soon as part of a package of liability bills relating to several different entities.  All bills in the package must be signed in order for any of them to become law.

House Bill 6030 may be of interest to those clubs with concerns about conducting their events while under a higher-than-normal exposure to liability risks.

Bill Summary:

House Bill 6030 in part states the following:

• A person is not liable for COVID exposure claims is they are in compliance with all federal, state, and local statutes, rules, regulations, and executive and agency orders that have not been denied legal effect at the time of the incident. For example, the governor’s executive orders that have been recently struck down by the state Supreme Court would not be in effect, but recent orders by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are in effect and therefore must be complied with in order to be immune from liability.
• A “person” who is immune from liability under this bill is defined in part as an individual or an organization, including independent contractors and paid and unpaid volunteers.
• An isolated, minimal (“de minimus”) deviation from strict compliance with these regulations that is unrelated to a plaintiff’s injuries does not automatically negate immunity.

What You Can Do:

The final bill will likely be soon transmitted to Governor Witmer for her consideration.  You may contact her regarding House Bill 6030 in one of the following ways:

Phone: 517-335-7858
Web form: https://somgovweb.state.mi.us/GovRelations/ShareOpinion.aspx

AKC Government Relations continues to track bills across the country relating to the issue of COVID-19 liability.  For the latest information on this topic, visit the COVID-19 Liability key issues page in the AKC Legislative Action Center.

To view AKC legislative information and updates relating to COVID-19 and how they are impacting dogs, events, and businesses, visit www.akcgr.org/covid19.

For more information, contact AKC Government Relations at doglaw@akc.org.