Employers Encouraged to Lobby Their Legislators
Since the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the process of adopt and amend to be unconstitutional earlier this summer, employers have been faced with the prospect of complying with two problematic employment laws early next year. Michigan’s minimum wage law and the paid sick leave law will change back to the original ballot initiatives passed back in 2018 on February 21, 2025.
The minimum wage law will mostly impact employers that rely on a lower minimum wage. Particular to the minimum wage law is the so-called tip credit feature of that law that allows restaurants and other establishments employing tipped workers to pay less than the minimum wage. Should that minimum wage law go into effect, employers in the hospitality industry mostly, will face higher costs and will most likely conduct layoffs to address the effect of those higher costs.
The Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) impacts all Michigan employers and forces them to provide up to 72 hours of paid sick time each year. This paid time off law is also expected to negatively impact small employers.
Since the Court’s ruling, talk of amendment of those laws has grown. Businesses impacted quickly realized the implications of a dramatic increase in the minimum wage, loss of the lower tipped worker minimum wage, and the additional cost of paid time off and have been pressing lawmakers toward amendment of those laws.
With the summer recess of Michigan’s legislature coming to an end, Republican legislators are preparing to introduce bills to fix these laws. The question is whether at least some Democrat legislators will also go along with the changes. Reports are that there are many sympathetic Democrat Legislators that agree with amending the minimum wage law, however it is questionable on what broader support exists to also change the Earned Sick Time Act. The paid sick leave law will impact employers as small as a single employee.
With the impending election and a short window to work with before the two laws take effect, employers and their representatives are encouraged to contact their state legislators directly or work through their industry business association to press for a speedy amendment to these onerous laws before the end of this year.
ASE Connect
Visit our ESTA FAQ page for answers to all of your questions and to download the new required poster effective in February.
By Michael Burns, courtesy of SBAM-approved partner, ASE. Source: Gongwer. Groups Push to Preserve Tipped Wage; Singh Hopeful for Deal (9/5/2024)
Click here for more News & Resources.