House Oversight Committee Chairman Steve Johnson (R-Wayland) today said major process and transparency issues within the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) that were disclosed in a committee hearing raise additional questions that must be answered.

The committee heard testimony from Port Huron city manager James Freed, who outlined the department’s destruction and concealment of key communications that were uncovered during a year-long legal dispute over alleged COVID-19 protocol violations.

“Mr. Freed called this a pervasive culture in how MIOSHA leadership addresses appeals and transparency. I worry what this means and has meant for many small businesses that were accused of violations and don’t have tens of thousands of dollars or a legal team at their disposal,” Johnson said. “If you’re a local business owner and you’re faced with a $6,000 fine like Port Huron was – a high percentage of business owners are going to say ‘I’m just going to pay it even if I believe I’m innocent. I’m not going to fight the system or risk additional trouble.’ Small businesses are incentivized to pay the fine because it is cheaper than fighting the legal fight. This has led to countless innocent businesses being fined.”

In November of last year, the citation against Port Huron was dismissed. At the time of the dismissal, only roughly one out of every 10 MIOSHA violations had been contested since numerous executive orders in response to COVID-19 were implemented.

Johnson also highlighted the way in which the department cited Port Huron, as Freed shared in testimony that MIOSHA indicated it was a “general feeling” of non-compliance that led to issuing the city citations.

“MIOSHA had no evidence but instead tried to convict Port Huron on a ‘general feeling’. This is as un-American as you can get,” Johnson said. “MIOSHA also considered the case closed when they issued the citation instead of letting due process play out through appeals. Fundamentally, there are many concerns with how this went. I am eager to speak with the department at an upcoming hearing to get to the bottom of it so we can have a department that operates with integrity and fairness.”