State Representative Bill G. Schuette said today that newly signed laws will place additional burdens on family caregivers while limiting choices available to families as they care for their loved ones.

The new laws classify caregivers under Michigan’s Home Help Program as public employees for collective bargaining purposes, requiring them to attend union orientations within 45 days and strongly encouraging union membership. The program provides Medicaid-funded personal care services for elderly and disabled individuals.

Schuette said the reforms amount to a money grab out of the pockets of heroic individuals who provide 24/7 care for their loved ones without any meaningful return for their union dues. In addition, many families hire their own caregivers, including relatives, to suit specific needs.

“These laws will simply drain hundreds of dollars of financial support from each of these households as they already face higher cost of living expenses from high inflation over the past several years,” Schuette said. “They’re a flawed approach to the challenges faced by Michigan families living with disabled relatives. They put individualized care at risk, and they’re another thinly veiled ploy by Democrats to line lobbyist pockets.”

Similar efforts to unionize caregivers were rejected by Michigan voters in 2012, when a ballot measure was defeated by a wide margin.

“Democrats clearly are the threat to democracy as they do not respect the will of voters. The people of Michigan recognized in 2012 that this policy only further complicated an already delicate issue,” Schuette said. “They recognized this would hurt society’s most vulnerable families whose daily burden we cannot hope to truly understand and appreciate without walking in their shoes day after day, month after month, and year after year. Unfortunately, the governor and Democrats in the Legislature decided to ignore this clear viewpoint from voters and ram through these reforms anyway.”

Before being signed into law, Senate Bills 790 and 791 passed the Legislature along partisan lines, with Republicans and organizations like the AARP expressing their opposition.