(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Minimum wage to increase after the Michigan Supreme Court strikes down legislative maneuver • Michigan Advance [1]
['Anna Liz Nichols', 'Kyle Davidson', 'More From Author', '- July', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img']
Date: 2024-07-31
Come February, the minimum wage will rise significantly and tipped wages will begin to phase out after a Michigan Supreme Court opinion published Wednesday found that the Legislature subverted the rights of citizens in 2018 by using an “adopt-and-amend” strategy to kill two ballot initiatives.
On Feb. 21, 2025, the minimum wage in Michigan will be more than $12 an hour, up from $10.33 and tipped wages will rise over the next few years until subminimum wages are phased out.
And a new paid sick leave policy will take effect requiring employers with fewer than 10 employees to offer up to 40 hours of paid sick time annually and employers with 10 or more employees to give up to 72 hours.
In a 4-3 opinion, the Michigan Supreme Court reviewed the then GOP-controlled Legislature’s decision in 2018 to adopt two citizen-led ballot initiatives increasing the minimum wage and mandating sick leave, keeping them off the ballot that year. In its lame duck session, lawmakers only went back and gutted the measures with amendments.
“It is undisputed that, under the Michigan Constitution, the Legislature would not have been able to make these amendments by a simple majority vote if the initiatives had appeared on the ballot and had been approved by a majority of Michigan voters in the 2018 election,” the opinion reads. “Rather, it chose a path not set forth in the Constitution: it adopted the proposed laws as written on the initiative petitions and then amended those laws as soon as the election was over.”
In a concurring opinion, Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Kelly called the Legislature’s actions a “ploy” “anti-democratic” in intent and opposed to what the drafters of the constitution contemplated in managing the power of the Legislature.
“If the individuals responsible for this maneuver ever wonder why public opinion polls consistently cast politicians low when it comes to the virtue of trust, they need look no further than what they did here,” Kelly said. “It is a direct assault on one of the rights our founding fathers and the drafters of our state Constitution held dear: the right of the citizens to petition their government. When the history of this Legislature is written, it is difficult to imagine anybody saying that this was their finest hour.”
Roquesha Oneal, a Detroit restaurant worker, praised the ruling in a news release from the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) of Michigan.
“This victory truly belongs to restaurant workers and other Michigan workers, like me, who mainly depend on our jobs and paychecks to make ends meet. By working for jobs that offer meager pay and yet continuing to contribute to the economic vibrancy of our state, our sacrifices have paid off. I have never been more hopeful than I am today that I will have a higher paycheck, better protection when I get sick, and a much brighter tomorrow,” Oneal said.
Voters deserve clarity on their rights when it comes to ballot initiatives, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said in a statement Wednesday, pointing the finger at the Republican majority in the Legislature in 2018.
“The then-Republican majority made a deceitful bait-and-switch on the very people they were sworn to serve, and this lengthy battle was caused by their tactics,” Brinks said. “Regardless, today marks a new chapter where legislators and residents alike will have a clear understanding of the citizen initiative process.”
Although there were condemnations of the adopt-and-amend strategy, there are fears that employees that work on tip wages will see mass layoffs.
Rep. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield) voiced his concerns on X Wednesday saying, “40% of restaurants across Michigan could go out of business when the tip credit skyrockets. Thousands of servers will be laid off. I look forward to working w/ colleagues and partners on a fix that will not leave our beloved community restaurants on a cliff-edge this winter.”
House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) is calling on Democrats, who now have the majority in both chambers, to reconvene at the Capitol and come up with solutions for all the workers who will ultimately earn less on the tip system or get laid off due to increased costs for businesses.
“The Legislature must return to the Capitol immediately, because this decision will completely disrupt the livelihoods of hard-working Michiganders,” Hall said in the statement. “Restaurants and other small businesses will have to raise their prices, tipped workers will take home less pay, and some people will lose their jobs. The court has ruled, and now it’s time for the people’s representatives to take action.”
Save MI Tips spokesperson John Sellek also called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to step in after the “devastating” decision.
“Servers and bartenders take these jobs because through their own efforts they can make far more than minimum wage,” said Sellek. “In their own words, they are now sure to suffer from lost income and lost jobs as the hospitality industry is thrown into economic turmoil because of this secretive, dark money-funded out-of-state group.”
Brian Calley, who was the GOP lieutenant governor in 2018 is now the president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM).
Small businesses around the state will not survive the state supreme court’s decision, Calley said in a statement Wednesday. The opinion from the court also expands the businesses required to offer paid sick leave for employees in February, whereas the legislature exempted businesses with less than 50 employees.
“Draconian new mandates that drastically alter employer-employee relationships and impose heavy administrative burdens is the opposite of what empowers small businesses to grow in our communities,” Calley said. “During a time where policymakers are constantly talking about how to grow our population, these types of policies are not productive or fruitful for our future as a state. We urge lawmakers to act swiftly but deliberately to protect small business owners from the fallout of this unfortunate ruling.”
About 91% of restaurant owners say they will raise prices on menus and rooms and 58% said they’ll lay off employees to offset changes to minimum wage and sick leave, a survey published by the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association in September 2022 found.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://michiganadvance.com/2024/07/31/minimum-wage-to-increase-after-the-michigan-supreme-court-strikes-down-legislative-maneuver/
Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/
