State Legislature OKs minimum wage, sick time initiatives

By David Eggert
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Michigan Senate on Wednesday passed bills that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $12 an hour and require paid sick leave, preventing public votes on the citizen-initiated measures in November and making it easier for lawmakers to water them down after the election.

The GOP-led House could follow suit later Wednesday. It is part of an unprecedented business-backed strategy — the legality of which is unclear — to avoid the risk of voters passing the measures, which would require three-fourths majorities in each legislative chamber to later change. By passing the initiatives before they could go to voters, the Legislature would only need simple majorities to amend them during the “lame-duck” period in November or December.

Democrats voted against the bills they support, saying they do not know what changes are coming, including if Republicans could try to repeal them altogether. State Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., of East Lansing, called the maneuver “nothing more than a classic bait-and-switch, a trick on the voters here in Michigan, an attack on our democracy.”

The Senate voted 24-13 to pass the legislation, with three Republicans joining 10 Democrats in opposition.

Under the Michigan Constitution, legislators can adopt a ballot initiative, making it law; reject it, putting it to a statewide vote; or propose an alternative to appear alongside the measure on the ballot.
Since approval of the 1963 constitution, Michigan lawmakers have never adopted an initiative and amended it in the same legislative session.

If the Legislature does pass the measure and prevent it from going to voters, the group backing the $12 minimum wage, One Fair Wage, has promised to sue over what its lawyer said Tuesday would be an unconstitutional maneuver.

Republican state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, however, said Wednesday that he believes the strategy is legal.

“We’re going to consider different options, a whole suite of different things that we may think are more friendly to Michigan to make sure that workers are indeed cared for and that still provide for economic development for the state to keep moving forward,” he said, declining to elaborate.

Michigan’s hourly minimum wage is $9.25 and, starting in 2019, it is currently set to increase annually with inflation unless the unemployment rate is high. Under the proposal, the wage would rise to $10 in 2019, $10.65 in 2020, $11.35 in 2021 and $12 in 2022, with yearly inflationary adjustments afterward.

The minimum wage for tipped employees would gradually increase from the current $3.52 until reaching the minimum wage for all other workers in 2024.

The sick time proposal would require that workers earn one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees at businesses with at least 10 workers could use up to 72 hours of paid leave a year, unless an employer selects a higher limit. Those working for smaller employers could use up to 40 hours of paid time and another 32 hours of unpaid leave.
 

––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available