20 September 2018 Michigan legislators pass paid sick leave/minimum wage increase legislation, obviating need for ballot measure On September 5, 2018, the Michigan legislature passed paid sick leave and minimum wage increase initiatives into law, effectively taking the initiatives off the November 6, 2018 ballot. According to new sources, doing so will allow the legislature to amend the laws before they become effective in 2019. (Crain's Detroit Business release; The Detroit News release.) The Michigan constitution provides that state legislators have 40 days following the certification of a ballot initiative to either pass the provisions of the initiative or reject the initiative and allow it to be placed on the ballot for voter approval. Effective April 1, 2019, the paid sick leave initiative would require employers of 10 or more employees to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked up to a limit of 72 hours per year. Employers of fewer than 10 employees would be required to allow employees to accrue up to 40 hours of paid, and 32 hours of unpaid, sick leave each year. The minimum wage increase initiative would increase the state minimum wage from the current $9.25 per hour to: $10 per hour effective January 1, 2019; $10.65 effective January 1, 2020; $11.35 per hour effective January 1, 2021; and $12.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022. Each year thereafter the minimum wage would be calculated based on the state's cost of living index. The initiative would also incrementally eliminate the tip credit from the law by 2024, requiring that tipped employees be paid at the same minimum wage as other employees. It remains to be seen what law changes will be made, if any, to state law. News sources are reporting that a law imposing paid sick leave, if enacted, could face legal challenge down the road.
Document ID: 2018-1856 | |||||||||
