Minimum Wage

The Michigan legislature is racing to pass policies to manage the incoming increase to the state minimum wage and new mandatory paid sick leave. The state Supreme Court set a date for those changes to take effect this month.

The heads of multiple chambers of commerce say they want representation in the state Senate as lawmakers debate legislation related to the minimum wage and paid sick leave. U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) resigned from the state Senate nearly a month ago.

HB 6056 would allow a new law that increases the state minimum wage to go into effect — just not for waiters and bartenders who receive much of their income from tips.

The Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance, a coalition of business leaders, say the pending changes to the minimum wages laws will have a disproportionate impact on the tourism economy in the region and hospitality industries.

One of the most anticipated decisions this year from the Michigan Supreme Court will soon determine the fate of the state’s minimum wage and earned sick leave laws. A decision is expected soon as the Supreme Court session wraps up at the end of the month.

The Michigan Supreme Court turned down a request Friday to order that a petition to raise the state’s minimum wage be certified to the November ballot.

A petition campaign to gradually raise Michigan’s mandatory minimum wage to $15 an hour appears to be heading to court. That’s after an evenly divided state board deadlocked on whether to certify the petition signatures.

The Michigan Supreme Court will decide whether the Legislature had the authority to change minimum wage and paid sick leave laws that were enacted under Michigan’s petition initiative process.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled the state Legislature acted appropriately when it watered down a law that raised the state’s minimum wage.