LANSING — Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill to require employers to provide seating for their workers, as long as they can still perform their responsibilities while seated.

If you’ve worked a job that requires you to wear a name badge and smile all the time, new legislation in the House might appeal to you.

The bill introduced this fall would require employers to supply seating for their employees — and allow them to use it.

Letting workers sit on the job is just common sense, said Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, the lead sponsor.

“I think most people would agree that you should have the right to sit at your job if you can do your work the same while sitting,” Wegela said.

The bill would mandate that employers provide seating, like a stool or a chair, for employees while they work. But if their job requires them to stand, the legislation states, there should be seating nearby. And it includes a provision that employers can’t prohibit their workers from using the provided seating.

There are already federal protections for workers who are pregnant or have disabilities.

But everyone should be able to rest their legs on the job, Wegela said.

“You don’t have to have a disability in order for there to be a good case for you to sit during your job function or sit during downtimes,” he said.

Cosponsors are Reps. Peneope Tsernoglou of East Lansing, Natalie Price of Berkley, Jimmie Wilson Jr. of Ypsilanti, Sharon MacDonell of Troy, Carrie Rheingans of Ann Arbor, Erin Byrnes of Dearborn, Emily Dievendorf of Lansing and Alabas Farhat of Dearborn.

If passed, workers would report violations to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Wegela said. From there, county prosecutors or the attorney general could pursue a $250 fine for each employee who filed a complaint, according to the bill.

Wegela said he hopes the proposal earns bipartisan support, citing similar laws in states like West Virginia and Montana.

“I think this is an issue about human dignity and compassion, and one that just makes a lot of sense,” he said.

The bill is pending in the House Labor Committee.

Elinor Epperson has an environmental reporting internship under the MSU Knight Center for Environmental Journalism’s diversity reporting partnership with the Mott News Collaborative and CNS. This story was produced for Michigan Public.