Michigan lawmakers are working against the clock to make adjustments to tipped wages and paid sick leave after a court decision set the state laws to change drastically next month.
On Feb. 21, the state’s minimum wage will gradually begin to increase each year until it reaches $14.97 per hour by 2028. The tipped minimum wage will increase each year until it is equivalent to the standard minimum wage in 2030 after a court decision last year said the state’s changes to the 2018 Wage Act and Earned Sick Time Act were unconstitutional.
State House Republicans have offered bills that would slow the increases to the standard minimum wage to reach $15 per hour by 2029 and maintain lower wages for tipped workers, along with additional limits to paid sick leave from the current law, which will go into effect next month.
Both pieces of legislation, House Bills 4001 and 4002, passed with the support of all Republicans and some Democrats last week in the House, and Republicans from the lower chamber want the Democrat-controlled Senate to act quickly.
“If we don’t act, these changes will have a catastrophic impact. Increased payroll costs will be passed on to customers. As prices rise, fewer people will choose to eat out, pushing many restaurants to cut hours, reduce staffing, or even shut down entirely,” Republican state Rep. John Roth said last week.
“These dire circumstances make it all the more important that the Senate does not drag its feet when considering these bills. This doesn’t need to be a divisive issue. Days like today prove that bipartisan cooperation is possible. I encourage the governor and my colleagues in the Senate to follow our lead and reach across the aisle so we can get this done,” Republican state Rep. Donni Steele said in a statement on the bills.
Bipartisan bills with similar objectives to the ones passed last week were under consideration in the legislature during the lame-duck session last year but failed to be passed. As the bill was sent to the state Senate for consideration, Republican state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt called on the chamber to take up the legislation.
“After Democrats refused to act for months, the first vote of the new Republican House was to save 60,000 hospitality jobs. Senate Democrats should allow a vote on these BIPARTISAN bills ASAP,” Nesbitt posted on X.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks said last week that she is hopeful there can be a “balance” on addressing concerns over the pending changes to tipped wages and paid sick leave but pushed back on part of the House GOP plan.
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“But I want to be clear: I will not rubber-stamp a plan that takes earned sick leave away from a million Michiganders,” Brinks said, according to the Detroit News.
The state Senate is scheduled to be in session next on Tuesday, with only 11 more planned session days for the chamber until the changes to tipped wages go into effect.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
