hartsville news journal – The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday to reinstate minimum wage and sick leave laws that were rolled back by the Republican-controlled state legislature in 2018. This decision will raise the state’s minimum wage for regular and tipped workers to $12 per hour next year.
In 2018, over 280,000 signatures were gathered for a petition to increase the minimum wage and mandate paid sick leave for small business employees. However, instead of placing the initiative on the November 6, 2018 ballot, the Republican-led legislature approved it in September of that year.
Less than two months later, in December 2018, the legislature amended the laws, significantly weakening their provisions.
According to Michigan’s 2018 Minimum Wage Increase Initiative, the state’s minimum wage was supposed to increase by 60 to 75 cents annually, reaching $12 by 2022. However, then-Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill in December 2018 delaying the increase until 2030.
The 2018 ballot initiative also required businesses with fewer than 10 employees to offer 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, while those with more than 10 employees had to provide 72 hours of paid sick leave annually.
Following the legislative changes, only businesses with 50 or more employees were required to provide paid sick leave, capped at 40 hours per year.
After years of legal battles, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that it was unconstitutional for the legislature to pass these bills and then weaken them shortly afterward.
“Allowing the Legislature to bypass voters and repeal the very law it just passed in the same legislative session frustrates voters’ ability to participate in the legislative process,” Judge Elizabeth Welch wrote in Wednesday’s decision.
This ruling means Michigan’s minimum wage, currently at $10.33 an hour, will increase to $12 in February.
Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, the nonprofit behind the 2018 ballot initiative, stated to media outlets, including The New York Times, “We have finally prevailed over corporate interests who tried everything they could to prevent all workers, including restaurant workers, from receiving a full and fair wage with tips on top.”
In a press release, One Fair Wage stated: “The Michigan Court of Claims declared our initiative proposal to be the law of the land, making Michigan the eighth state to require a full tipped wage.”
The nonprofit gathered and submitted 610,000 signatures for a legal initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour on this year’s ballot.
However, not everyone is pleased with the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision, particularly the state’s business groups.
“The implications of this ruling will have far-reaching negative effects on Michigan and will be a nightmare for all employers in Michigan, not just businesses,” said NFIB Michigan State Director Amanda Fisher in a statement on Wednesday. She accused the court’s decision of being politically motivated.
“The Legislature decided to adopt and amend the law because the original text was a regulatory nightmare and to provide clarity for employers and employees. As usual, small businesses, especially restaurants, will bear the brunt of the continued judicial usurpation of legislative power,” she added.
