LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Periods and power tools? No problem say Michigan Democrats who on Tuesday, April 23rd, introduced House Bill 5644, legislation that amends the 1974 Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA) to require an employer who is engaged in construction operations to provide “reasonable accommodations” for its employees who menstruate.

35 Democrats support menstruating and lactating persons in construction industry.

Democratic Michigan Rep. Jaime Churches (D-Wyandotte), who is also a former elementary schoolteacher and union vice president, introduced the bill with the support of 34 other Democratic lawmakers. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Labor which is comprised of 7 Democrats and 3 Republicans.

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These female porta-potties, powder room pods, and lady lounges will be mandated to be provided by employers engaged in construction activities throughout the state of Michigan.

The legislation orders the Director of MIOSHA to “promulgate rules specific to employees engaged in construction operations who menstruate or express milk, or both.”

The terms “woman” or “female” were not used in legislation.

No reason was given on why the bill used the words “menstruate” instead of just describing women or females however, it should be pointed out that the Democrats, as supporters of the transgender movement, have been reluctant to use the word “woman” in certain contexts including Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer who has used the terms “menstruating people” and “people with a period” on different occasions.

The legislation introduced includes the requirements of having a bathroom stall that is designated only for employees who menstruate that is accessible on the job site (with an internal latch). If there is more than one individual bathroom stall within a room, the room must be able to be locked from the inside.

Layers of clothing taken into account and menstrual hygiene products will be mandated.

Additionally, “adequate space and time for the employee to use the bathroom that accounts for multiple layers of clothing” is also required. The employer will also be mandated to provide “menstrual hygiene products that are available at no cost to the employees and are located in gender-neutral bathrooms” or provide in a kit to each employee who needs menstrual hygiene products.

Furthermore, the employer has to provide “reasonable accommodations” for its employees who express milk that is other than a bathroom, easily accessible to the employee and sanitary.”

Breast milk refrigerators required.

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The accommodations must be private, be able to be locked from the inside, free from intrusion and there must be a hygienic refrigerator located on the job site and accessible to the employees that meets the temperature guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s human milk storage guidelines so the employee may store the milk that the employee expresses while on the job.

Lastly, if there is a job site with multiple employers engaged in construction operations, each employer must ensure that the reasonable accommodations described are provided to the employer’s employees.

Unnecessary mandates to raise costs for employers shouldn’t be a concern for lawmakes.

We reached out to the Home Builders Association of Michigan about the legislation and they send a statement to us saying, “As House Bill 5644 was introduced just this week, our legislative committee has not had an opportunity to have the discussion on the impact this legislation will have on the residential construction industry. We do have several questions as to how this proposal would actually be put into practice should it be passed and signed into law.”

They went on to say, “Small businesses make up the majority of those providing residential construction services. The one thing policymakers should be concerned about, at a time when we are seeing a labor shortage in our industry and ever escalating housing costs, is to institute unnecessary mandates that raise costs further.”

When Michigan News Source contacted Churches to get more information on the bill and why she felt the need to introduce it, she did not return our request for comment.