Safe & Just Michigan

Criminal Defense Newsletter | October 2026

New legislation would create health care job opportunities 

Michigan’s health care job crisis is one step closer to being solved with the introduction of House Bills 6399-6402, a package of common-sense legislation that will make it possible for thousands of Michiganders to seek employment in the health care industry like hospitals and nursing homes. The bills are introduced at a crucial time, as the Michigan Health Council’s 2025 Michigan Healthcare Workforce Index forecasts a shortfall over the coming decade of more than 171,372 home health and personal care aides, 60,444 nursing assistants and 24,321 medical assistants, among dozens of health care job categories.

The newly introduced legislation would address the worker shortfall by enabling more people to seek employment in the health care sector. Under current rules and laws, people with many kinds of misdemeanor and felony convictions are prohibited from working in the health care sector for up to 15 years after their sentences end. While it is understandable that people with some offenses, such as assault or abuse, should be kept out of the health care industry, the rules also prevent people with low-level offenses, like shoplifting, from working in places like hospitals.

It is estimated that more than 500,000 Michiganders are locked out of health care employment under current laws. 

“No one knows better who is fit to care for and serve patients than the people who hire nurses, doctors, technicians and assistants for hospitals, nursing homes and other settings in the health care sector,” said Ken Nixon, Safe & Just Michigan’s Director of Outreach and Community Partnerships. SJM worked on the introduction of these bills, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport).

The bills reduce the waiting period for felonies to 10 from 15 years, and for misdemeanors from 10 to 5 years. Convictions for some offenses, such as homicide, assault and home invasion, will continue to preclude people from working in the health care industry. However, the bills significantly reduce the barriers for people who were convicted of lower-level offenses, such as shoplifting and jaywalking. 

“No employer should be required to hire someone with a criminal background, but it also shouldn't be illegal for them to do so,” said Jarrett Skorup, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Right now, the state restricts thousands of people from working in hundreds of industries because it blocks them from getting a license. These bills take a measured approach to giving many people the opportunity to work and better their lives — something research shows is safe and good for our economy. ”

The bills have been referred to the House Health Policy committee and are awaiting a hearing.

“We know that stable employment is an important factor in successful reentry,” said Sheryl Kubiak, PhD, Founding Director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at Wayne State University. “When restrictions continue long after someone has completed their sentence, they can make it more difficult for people to establish that stability. Reexamining unnecessary barriers to health care employment, while maintaining appropriate safeguards, benefits both people returning to their communities and a health care system in need of workers.”

Taken together, these policy reforms would improve the health care sector’s access to untapped talent in Michigan and help ensure Michiganders can get the care they need, when and where they need it. 

“Too many qualified candidates are shut out of health care careers because of old convictions that have no bearing on their ability to do the job, nor do these convictions pose any safety risks,” said Simone Price, director of advocacy and organizing for the Center for Employment Opportunities. “Stigma's grip on the workforce harms applicants, employers and communities as a whole. A stronger workforce requires employers to prioritize each applicant’s skills, experience and current qualifications. These bills once passed will bring us a step closer to fair economic opportunity for all Michigan workers.”

Creating Good Habits: New issue brief released

Safe & Just Michigan has released an issue brief on Michigan’s Habitual Sentencing laws. The report takes a look at the history of Habitual Sentencing, how court rulings have changed the application of the law, how it contributes to disparate sentencing in our state and proposals to improve Habitual Sentencing. 

The report, “Creating Good Habits: Fixing Michigan’s Habitual Offender Laws” is available at https://bit.ly/Habitual2026. 

Habitual Sentencing laws in Michigan reach back to the 1920's and were created to ensure that people who repeatedly break the law receive harsher sentences. It is up to individual prosecutors in each county to determine whether a person will face Habitual Sentencing enhancements.

In practice, however, several concerns have emerged around habitual sentencing. As it is an optional sentencing enhancement, some counties use the measure frequently, while others don’t use it at all. That results in people convicted of different offenses receiving widely disparate sentences depending on which court convicted them.

In addition, a series of Michigan Supreme Court rulings has expanded the scope of the law. Currently, it is possible to be considered a “habitual offender” after being arrested just one time, as the 2008 People v. Gardner case found that every felony conviction counts individually for habitualization purposes, regardless of whether it arose from the same incident as another conviction.

Earlier this year, a “Gardner fix” was introduced to the state Legislature. Senate Bill 895 would align with the legislature’s original intent: that the enhancement tiers should reflect the number of separate criminal incidents for which an individual was convicted and punished, rather than the total number of individual conviction counts. It also limits the lookback period to 10 years.

While helpful, that proposal doesn’t address the fact that Habitual Sentencing is applied unequally across the state. We’re hopeful the introduced “Gardner fix” is just a first step toward addressing the inconsistencies of Habitual Sentencing. 

To learn more, visit us at www.safeandjustmi.org. If you would like to join our efforts, email us at info@safeandjustmi.org or sign up for our newsletter at bit.ly/sjmsignup.