“Northern Michigan is filled with unique restaurants that people travel hundreds of miles to visit. Each of those locally owned operations is at risk of shutting down after this ruling,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “These businesses rely on local people – from high school kids to adults who have worked in the service industry their entire lives – to stay afloat. These folks pride themselves in offering the best possible service and are rewarded through quality tipping. These extreme changes being pushed on us by the Supreme Court mean that most of these hard-working people will be laid off in the coming year. It’s unacceptable. The Legislature must return to work and save our restaurant and tourism industries.”

“The Unemployment Insurance Agency is almost entirely funded on the backs of small businesses. This bill seeks to force businesses to bankroll unemployment benefits for employees who chose not to seek a new job in a timely manner,” said Borton, R-Gaylord. “Obviously, the unemployment system is important, but state government should not be expanding the burden on small businesses or allowing people who don’t want to work to further abuse the system.”