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Family farm testimony on House Bill 4017: relatives recount death, fines and seek reduced MIOSHA penalty
Summary
House Agriculture Committee heard emotional testimony from the Eisman family about a 2019 on‑farm death and subsequent MIOSHA fines; the bill would reduce the mandatory penalty for failing to report a workplace death on qualifying family farm operations.
The Michigan House Agriculture Committee took testimony on House Bill 4017, a proposal to reduce the mandatory penalty that applies when an accidental death on a qualifying family farm operation is not reported to MIOSHA within eight hours.
Barb Eisman, speaking for her family, described finding her husband Keith deceased on Nov. 26, 2019, and said the farm later received a $5,000 fine for failing to report within eight hours plus an additional $12,000 in penalties stemming from an MIOSHA inspection. "To expect anyone who had just lost a spouse or a brother ... to call a government agency and notify them of a death during the first 8 hours ... and then penalize them with a maximum fine for not doing so is unrealistic, heartless, and cruel," Barb Eisman said.
Nut graf: supporters told the committee the bill would better align penalties with the realities faced by small, family‑run farms during times of personal tragedy and would spare families significant financial hardship; opponents (read into record) raised procedural concerns about broad legal alignment with…
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