The Supreme Court will hear a case involving a transgender employee fired from Michigan funeral home. In another Michigan case, a federal appeals court says “chalking” tires is Unconstitutional. Michigan’s Attorney General says she’ll crack down on employer fraud.
(MPRN) The United States Supreme court will hear arguments in a sex discrimination case involving a Michigan funeral home. Aimee Stephens was a funeral director at R.G and G.R Harris Funeral Home. She says she was fired when she told the owners she was transitioning from male to female. The Court of Appeals ruled that the funeral home’s firing of Stephens was unlawful sex discrimination under federal law. But the funeral home appealed. It says federal law does not apply to transgender employees because Congress did not mean to include transgender people in the definition of “sex discrimination.”
(MPRN) Michigan's attorney general has businesses that engage in "wage theft" in her sights. Democrat Dana Nessel said Monday that she's setting up a new unit to crack down on the problem. Nessel says the practice not only hurts the workers who're affected. She says wage theft costs the state $107-million a year in tax revenue. Nessel's plan has support from fellow Democrats at the State Capitol. But so far, no Republicans have signed on.
(Gongwer News Service) A federal appeals court has ruled in a case from Saginaw that marking tires with chalk to determine if someone has exceeded their allotted parking time violates the U.S. Constitution. The Gongwer News Service says the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati issued the opinion Monday. It says the practice of chalking tires violates the Constitutional prohibition against unreasonable searches. The three judge panel reversed a district court ruling in the city’s favor.
(WKAR) U.S Senator Gary peters says Michigan could play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change. Peters came to East Lansing for a forum on the financial costs of climate change. He says according to the government accountability office climate change has already cost tax payers $500-billion. But he says Michigan’s auto industry could help address the impact of a changing climate.