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City of Ann Arbor considering law requiring local businesses to allow its employees time to sit down

Ann Arbor City Council chambers.
Kevin Meerschaert
/
89.1 WEMU
Ann Arbor City Council chambers.

Ann Arbor may soon approve a "right to sit" law for all employees.

Several states and cities already have similar laws on the books where employers are required to provide suitable sitting when doing so does not prevent workers from doing their duties.

Third Ward Council member Ayesha Ghazi Edwin has been working on the legislation for almost a year. She says she decided to do something when she learned her hairdresser wasn’t allowed to sit during her shift without a medical waiver.

“The only way that her boss was letting her sit down and cut hair was if she was to get a note from her physician that says she has a disability. And because she’s in between insurance, she can’t.”

Disputes would first go to Human Rights Commission. It would then go to the City Attorney’s Office if the complaint still can’t be resolved.

A first vote on The Right to Sit Bill was delayed last week. It is now up for a vote at the October 7th Council meeting.

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News Reporter and Host Kevin Meerschaert was a student reporter at WEMU in the early 90s. After another 30 years in the public radio business and stops in Indiana, Maryland, Florida, and New Mexico, Kevin is back to where it all began.
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