On the day Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill to stop the flow of money being taken from home health care workers checks and handed to the Service Employees International Union, the union signed a contract extension with the dummy employer it helped create to keep the scheme alive.

The contract extension between the Michigan Quality Community Care Council and the SEIU keeps what is now known as the "home health care dues skim" potentially in place through February 2013. Attorney Gen. Bill Schuette ordered an end to the "skim" last month but the SEIU sued in federal court to keep it alive. 

Healthcare Michigan, an affiliate of the SEIU, signed the contract extension with Susan Steinke, executive director of the Michigan Quality Community Care Council.

MQC3 was the dummy employer used by the SEIU to net tens of thousands of so-called home health care workers into the union seven years ago. The target of the unionization scheme was the Medicaid checks sent to help provide home care for homebound patients.

Most of those workers had no way of knowing what was taking place and the vast majority were family members or friends taking care of loved ones in their homes. 

So far the SEIU has received more than $30 million in dues and other fees deducted from the Medicaid checks.

"Given that MQC3 is being funded by the union it should be no surprise that they made such a last minute deal," said Patrick Wright, senior legal analyst for Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "This extension has nothing to do with keeping a registry in place or helping caregivers. It has everything to do with cash flow for the union."

In 2011, the Michigan Legislature de-funded the MQC3 in an effort to stop the "skim." However, documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the dummy employer was kept alive with at least one transfusion of money ($12,000) from the SEIU and with Steinke running it out of her Okemos home. Adding to the extraordinary circumstances was the fact that Steinke could work no more than three hours a month because she wanted to maintain her unemployment compensation.

Steinke did not respond to questions asking her where the extension was signed; if there were any witnesses; if the signing complied with the Open Meetings Act or other details surrounding the now extended contract.

Earning extra money replacing gutters or putting in new bathroom tile will cost you a lot of time and money thanks to Michigan’s licensing laws.

Without a certificate from the government, a lot of contracting work is illegal.

Michigan's licensing apparatus requires most general contracting workers to pay $235, take 60 hours of state-approved education, pass two exams and be over 18 years of age. Tiling, pouring terrazzo and putting up gutters are covered as maintenance and alteration contractors. Michigan is one of only 10 states that requires a license for this type of work and has the fourth highest licensing burden in the country, according to the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm.

The Institute for Justice released a study recently looking at licensing mandates around the nation. The report says that a lot of licensing is "irrational" and "a war against work."

Liz Smalley from Michigan's Office of Regulatory Reinvention said that some licensing is not overburdensome and protects consumers. However, she acknowledged that the state "has a regulatory environment that is in need of reform."

"Over the years, occupational regulations have been added and compounded without any attempt to review what is necessary and healthy for an efficient policy that encourages job growth and economic development," Smalley said in an email.

Smalley has worked with the state Occupational Licensing Advisory Rules Committee, which recently suggested 18 occupations that should be deregulated. 

The state requires licensing for those doing carpentry work, but also siding, gutters, roofing, insulation and tile and marble. Only five states require any education for this type of general contracting work. Michigan also requires individuals to be of "good moral character." It is unclear how that is objectively measured.

Teri Francis, with the Builders License Training Institute in Williamsburg, said state approval for maintenance and alteration contractors helps them be protected by the laws.

"The license is required for anyone who is working on other people's homes (residential) if the project amounts to $600 or more," Francis said. "That includes time and materials. If a person is working on their own home, the license is not required."

Francis said Michigan licensing law is "now up to par" and that benefits include discounts from some lumber yards as well as marketing aspects.

Smalley wrote that her office recommends eliminating the 60 hours of education and that the exam must only be taken once.

Michigan licensing law also requires painters to pay a fee, take exams and be approved while barbers, are required to spend 2,000 hours in training — more than lawyers in the state.