Governor Whitmer Extends Executive Order Temporarily Enhancing Price Gouging Restrictions During COVID-19 Pandemic

(May 15, 2020 6:33 PM) Governor Gretchen Whitmer today signed Executive Order 2020-89, further extending enhanced price gouging restrictions during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

To ensure front-line workers and all Michiganders have access to necessary products during the public health crisis, Executive Order 2020-89 extends restrictions on excessive pricing of goods, materials, emergency supplies and consumer food items.

“The last thing Michiganders should have to worry about right now is being charged excessive prices for milk, bread and other common staples they need to care for themselves and their families during this public health crisis,” Governor Whitmer said. “By extending restrictions on price gouging, we can ensure Michiganders have access to the food, household supplies and other goods they need as we continue to flatten the COVID-19 curve.”

Consistent with prior executive orders on price gouging, Executive Order 2020-89 prohibits a person from selling any product more than 20% higher than what the person offered or charged for that product as of the date prior to the governor’s first state of emergency order (March 9, 2020), unless it is not an emergency supply and costs more than $1,000.

Merchants can increase prices by more than 20% if there was an increase in cost of bringing the product to market or an extraordinary discount was in effect as of March 9, 2020.

The new order takes effect immediately and remains in effect until June 12, 2020.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

To view executive order 2020-89, click the link below: