A lawsuit filed in October 2026 is challenging Michigan’s legal framework that treats certain individual caregivers in the Medicaid Home Help program as public employees solely for collective-bargaining purposes.
The framework was created through Public Act 144 of 2024, the Home Help Caregiver Council Act, and Public Act 145 of 2024, which amended Michigan’s Public Employment Relations Act. The laws established a caregiver council and a collective-bargaining structure for qualifying individual Home Help caregivers.
The lawsuit, identified as Bolger v. Michigan Employment Relations Commission, challenges the state’s authority to apply that public-employee designation and seeks to invalidate the election that certified a bargaining representative. The case remains a legal challenge; a lawsuit is not a court ruling, and the filing itself does not mean the statutes have been struck down.
The issue is specific to individual caregivers participating in the Medicaid Home Help program. It should not be confused with the employment arrangements of caregivers working for private-pay home-care agencies.
Caregivers and families affected by Home Help should follow official state notices and court developments. Providers should not assume a pending lawsuit has changed current program requirements unless a court or responsible agency issues an applicable order or update.
