Governor Announces Layoffs; Short Term Extension of Stay-at-Home Order Likely

(April 22, 2020 5:12 PM) Today temporary layoff notices were issued to more than 2,900 (of about 48,295) state employees across state government who are working at less than their typical full capacity due to their work being shifted to the home. At a press conference today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the savings are approximately $5 million.

State employees who have been laid off will retain their health insurance and other benefits, and will be automatically enrolled into the unemployment process to help ensure they have the support they need during this challenging time.

The employees that are part of these temporary layoffs will miss 10 consecutive days of work, and the state will then reassess whether further days are necessary.

Governor Whitmer’s Press Secretary Tiffany Brown told JTV News, “Governor Whitmer is leading by example. She announced that she will be taking a ten percent pay cut, and has directed her executive team to take a five percent pay cut for the remainder of the fiscal year.”

Today, Governor Whitmer and MDHHS Chief Deputy for Health and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun provided an update on COVID-19 in Michigan.

At the conference, Gov. Whitmer said her stay-at-home order will be relaxed “in waves” and that a “short-term extension” is likely. The Governor did not say how long such an extension would last. “We will likely need another short-term extension of the stay-home, stay-safe order,” Whitmer said.

The Governor said the extension might be longer for vulnerable populations. “What it simply means is for the near future we know that it’s not going to be safe for especially vulnerable populations to be out and about publicly — people who have COPD, people who are over the age of 65 are going to have to continue to stay at home,” she said.

Gov. Whitmer was joined at the conference by Dr. Marisa Eisenberg, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Complex Systems, and Mathematics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Dr. Emily Toth Martin, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, joined the governor at the press conference.

To view the PowerPoint presentation the governor and Dr. Eisenberg used, click the link below: