December 1, 2024

Saluti Law Medi

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Michigan Supreme Court ruling will result in big minimum wage hike

Michigan Supreme Court ruling will result in big minimum wage hike

Lansing — The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Republican lawmakers unconstitutionally blocked two ballot proposals in 2018, a decision that will increase the state’s hourly minimum wage early next year, enact a new paid sick leave standard for workers and have economic repercussions across the state.

In the 4-3 ruling, Michigan’s high court said the Legislature acted inappropriately when it approved two petition-backed initiatives before Election Day in 2018, so they wouldn’t go on the ballot, and returned later in the year to significantly weaken the policies.

“In sum, by adopting the Wage Act and the Earned Sick Time Act and then later stripping those acts of their key features in the same legislative session, the Legislature unconstitutionally violated the people’s initiative rights,” Justice Elizabeth Welch, a Democratic-nominated jurist, wrote in the majority opinion Wednesday. “Accordingly, we hold that the Amended Wage Act and the Amended Earned Sick Time Act are unconstitutional.”

Michigan Supreme Court ruling will result in big minimum wage hike

The Supreme Court determined the original minimum wage and paid leave proposals should go into effect on Feb. 21, 2025, 205 days after the decision, mirroring the delay before implementation that would have occurred in 2018. The citizen-initiated proposals created phased-in increases in the minimum wage, along with initially setting it at $10 an hour.