Hiring employees in Michigan: the 2026 compliance checklist for employers and recruiters

As of October 2026, an employer hiring in Michigan has to register for withholding and unemployment insurance through Michigan Treasury Online, carry workers' compensation once it regularly employs three or more people (or one person 35 hours a week for 13 weeks), give each new hire the written earned sick time notice, have them hand in Form MI-W4 by their start date, and report the hire within 20 days. Michigan also bars questions about misdemeanor arrests that did not lead to a conviction, bars cities and counties from adding their own rules on what applications and interviews may ask, and in practice lets a participant record an interview, though the statute's wording says all parties.

This page is the Michigan hub: one table with every item and its official source, then a short section on each. Where we already have a full guide to an item, the section summarizes it and links there.

The Michigan hiring checklist at a glance

What must be in place before the first Michigan hire?

Registration and workers' compensation. The Department of Treasury's New Business Registration page starts at Michigan Treasury Online and notes that electronic registration for Michigan taxes now runs with the Unemployment Insurance Agency's upgraded platform. The agency is replacing its MiWAM employer system with MiUI, which, in the agency's words, "beginning 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, 2026," will "replace the MIWAM system for all unemployment tasks by workers and employers."

The Worker's Disability Compensation Act applies under MCL 418.115 to private employers "who regularly employ 3 or more employees at 1 time," and to smaller employers if at least one employee "has been regularly employed by that same employer for 35 or more hours per week for 13 weeks or longer during the preceding 52 weeks." The federal layer (an EIN, Form W-4 and Form I-9 by the third business day) applies on top.

Does a staffing or recruiting agency need a Michigan license?

Only some do. Article 10 of the Occupational Code, administered by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, licenses personnel agencies that take a fee from the person looking for work; employer-paid recruiting falls outside it and qualifying temporary staffing firms are expressly exempt. Professional employer organizations need their own license under a separate act. Our guide to the Michigan staffing agency license covers fees, the bond and the exemptions.

What must a Michigan job posting include, and can you ask about pay history?

We found no Michigan statute requiring pay ranges in postings or banning salary history questions for private employers as of October 2026; Michigan is not among the states in our pay transparency laws by state list. What Michigan has instead is a limit on local rules: MCL 123.1384 says a local governmental body "shall not adopt, enforce, or administer" an ordinance or policy "regulating information an employer or potential employer must request, require, or exclude on an application for employment or during the interview process." It does not name salary history, but our salary history ban states page explains why it is usually read to block city-level bans. Remote postings open to people in range states still pick up those states' rules.

When can you ask about criminal history or run a credit check?

Michigan has no private-employer ban-the-box statute that we found, and MCL 123.1384 keeps cities from adding one for applications and interviews. The limit that does apply is in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. MCL 37.2205a says an employer or employment agency "shall not in connection with an application for employment" request, make or maintain "a record of information regarding a misdemeanor arrest, detention, or disposition where a conviction did not result," and an applicant who leaves such an arrest off a form commits no perjury. The section does not cover a felony charge that is still pending. Background checks run by a screening company follow the federal steps in our FCRA background check guide.

We found no Michigan statute limiting employer credit checks; Michigan is not in our credit check laws guide, so the federal FCRA rules govern.

Can you record or transcribe a job interview in Michigan?

In practice, yes, if you are a participant, but get consent anyway. MCL 750.539c makes eavesdropping on a private conversation "without the consent of all parties thereto" a felony, yet courts read eavesdropping as listening to "the private discourse of others," which excludes a participant. As of October 2026 the Court of Appeals, the federal district court that once ruled the other way and the Sixth Circuit all treat a participant's recording as lawful, and the Michigan Supreme Court has declined to decide it. A coordinator or a note-taking tool acting for someone who is not on the call needs everyone's permission. The timeline is in our Michigan recording consent guide, with a shorter version in Michigan's eavesdropping law and interviews.

Does Michigan regulate AI in hiring?

Not with a dedicated statute as of October 2026: Michigan does not appear in our state-by-state AI hiring summary. Elliott-Larsen and federal anti-discrimination law still apply to the outcome of an AI screen, as our page on Title VII disparate impact and AI hiring explains, and a requisition open to candidates in New York City, Illinois or California can bring those rules in.

Can you drug test applicants in Michigan?

Yes. Michigan has no general statute setting procedures for private-employer drug tests that we found, and its recreational marijuana law leaves hiring decisions to the employer. MCL 333.27954(3) says the act "does not prevent an employer from refusing to hire" a person "because of that person's violation of a workplace drug policy or because that person was working while under the influence of marihuana," and does not require employers to permit use at work. Our drug testing laws guide compares the states that do restrict cannabis testing.

Does Michigan require E-Verify?

Only for state contractors, and only through the budget. The omnibus appropriations act for the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2026, 2025 PA 22, told most state departments to require contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify for people they hire during the contract. Private employers without a state contract have no Michigan E-Verify duty. Because the rule has to be carried into each new budget, our E-Verify requirements in Michigan page tracks whether the 2026-27 budget repeats it.

Which state withholding form does a new hire complete?

Form MI-W4, the Employee's Michigan Withholding Exemption Certificate. Its instructions say the employee "must submit" it "on or before the date that employment begins," and that if they do not, the employer "must withhold tax from your compensation without allowance for any exemptions." The employer keeps the form, sends a copy to Treasury when an employee claims 10 or more exemptions or claims to be exempt, and the form's employer section reminds employers that all new hires must be reported to the state. Residents of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin working in Michigan can claim the reciprocity exemption on it.

Which notices must a new Michigan employee get at hire?

The earned sick time notice. Under MCL 408.968, an employer "shall provide written notice to each employee at the time of hiring" covering the amount of earned sick time required, the employer's choice of how to calculate a year, the terms of use, the ban on retaliation and the right to file a complaint with the department. The notice must be in English, Spanish and any language that is the first language of at least 10% of the workforce, if the department has translated it. Our new hire onboarding checklist lists the rest of the first-day paperwork.

How do you report a new hire in Michigan?

Report to the Michigan New Hires Operation Center for the Office of Child Support. The Department of Health and Human Services' employer quick reference guide says to report newly hired and rehired employees "within 20 days of the date of hire or rehire (the date an employee first performed services for pay)," or twice a month, 12 to 16 days apart, if reporting electronically. The report needs the employee's name, Social Security number, address and date of hire, and the employer's name, address and FEIN. It can be filed online at mi-newhire.com, by fax or by mail.

The Michigan hiring steps in order

1. Before the first hire: get an EIN, register through Michigan Treasury Online, and bind workers' compensation if you meet the MCL 418.115 tests. Agencies that charge candidates apply for a personnel agency license.
2. Posting and screening: no state pay-range rule; leave misdemeanor arrests without a conviction out of applications and interviews.
3. Interview: a participant may record in practice; announce it and get a yes, and never let a tool record for someone who is not there.
4. Conditional offer: run background checks under the FCRA and any drug test under your written workplace policy.
5. First day: Form I-9, W-4 and MI-W4, and the earned sick time notice; E-Verify if a state contract requires it.
6. Within 20 days of the hire date: report the hire to the Michigan New Hires Operation Center.

Hiring in more than one state? The same checklist is available for Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington and Arizona.