Gov. Whitmer’s Flip (Flop) On Virus Rules

We’ve been watching what amounts to a mad scramble involving Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and leaders of key state departments the last two weeks.

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They’ve been backtracking, revising, adjusting, and basically doing flip flops COVID-19 virus control rules and regulations. The trigger was the surprise decision from the federal Centers for Disease Control to significantly relax medical considerations relating to the virus.

But another event surrounding virus rules that was supposed to happen today may also have been partially derailed by the overwhelmingly negative response from conservative state lawmakers and Michigan residents. The state was ready to make a number of virus control rules permanent. The Governor, through the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs was ready to make many of the state's emergency business and workplace virus rules permanent.

The outcry from state conservative leaders was clearly heard. Battle Creek Republican State Senator John Bizon, a physician, was among those raising the alarm. Bizon is one of many conservative lawmakers telling constituents to be ready to virtually attend the hearing set for today to protest the rules action.

Governor Whitmer’s latest media release indicates the change being pulled off the table is instead, due to the vaccination rate of Michigan residents along with a continuing drop in case numbers. She also mentions the huge change in CDC virus precautions.

The Governor’s release also indicates the state is dropping a planned requirement that would have forced businesses to create policies, “…prohibiting in-person work for employees to the extent that their work activities can feasibly be completed remotely.” Most Michigan residents had no idea the state was on the brink of imposing long-term work-from-home rules, permanently disrupting their lives and maybe costing them their jobs.