Michigan Debates Minimum Wage and Sick Leave Law Amendments

Michigan Legislature Takes Aim at Minimum Wage and Sick Leave Laws

In a pivotal move, a committee predominantly led by Republicans has initiated discussions on legislative proposals targeting the rollback of sections from initiatives designed to elevate the state’s minimum wage and assure paid sick leave for workers. The objective is to expedite these bills to the House floor within the week.

This special committee is concentrating on measures that equate the state minimum wage for both tipped and non-tipped employees and facilitate all workers in accumulating earned sick leave. These measures are scheduled to be enforced starting February 21, following a decisive Michigan Supreme Court ruling. The court determined that the Republican-majority Legislature circumvented the Michigan Constitution by adopting petition initiatives in 2018 to prevent them from reaching the ballot and subsequently amending them post-election.

The Supreme Court established a timeline to modernize the minimum wage and earned sick leave laws. The business community, particularly restaurant proprietors and tipped employees, have raised alarms about potential reductions in hours, layoffs, and business closures if these laws remain unchanged.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in Monroe or Marquette, Detroit or rural Michigan, it impacts everybody, it hits everybody hard, which is why it’s important that we fix it,” stated Representative Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland), chair of the special committee.

However, proponents argue that these concerns are exaggerated, advocating for the implementation of wage and sick leave laws as originally designed and supported by petition signers.

Monique Stanton from the Michigan League for Public Policy, an organization advocating for human services, addressed the committee, stating that the proposed legislative changes would be detrimental to workers.

“It would prevent nearly 1.5 million Michigan workers from being guaranteed earned sick time,” Stanton declared. “So, we’re talking about leaving 1.5 million people out of the ability to take time off if they have norovirus or their kid has pink eye.”

The committee is scheduled to reconvene on Thursday, with the possibility of forwarding the bills to the House floor. These legislative changes would need to be fast-tracked to be enacted before the wage and sick leave laws become effective next month.

Any measures passed by the House would also require approval from the Senate, which is under Democratic control, and the endorsement of Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.