House Bill No. 4099 known as “Lisa’s Law” became effective September 1, 2001. This law, named after Lisa Putman, a UAW Local 6000 member who was brutally murdered while doing her job as a child protective services worker with the Family Independence Agency (FIA), mandates that the Department provide training to all employees who must make home visits or do field investigations.

The training must include information on how to defuse threatening behavior and how to perform a safe investigation or home visit and recognize potentially dangerous situations.

Lisa’s Law also provides that workers must do field investigations or home visits with another trained worker or a law enforcement officer, if there is a reasonable apprehension regarding safety.

Senate Bill No. 72 which also became effective September 1, 2001, makes assault or assault and battery on FIA employees a felony. It is now a misdemeanor to threaten a worker of the Agency.

Lisa’s mother and father, many Local 6000 members, the local union’s health and safety representative and legislator liaison and Michigan CAP, were instrumental in getting these Bills passed. Without their combined efforts and pressure on the FIA, the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate, we would not have passed this legislation.

Next: AFL-CIO National Safety and Health Conference