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Governor, Legislature Plan to Advance Paid Family and Medical Leave

Michigan Supreme Court to Hear Case on Paid Sick Time/Minimum Wage in October

In addition to the Michigan legislative action on this issue, the Michigan Supreme Court will also review a case that impacts paid medical leave as well as the minimum wage in Michigan.

At issue are two initiatives that would have been included on the November ballot in 2018, but instead were adopted and amended by the state Legislature. The constitutionality of the “adopt and amend” strategy was challenged in court, and the Michigan Court of Claims ruled that the actions by the Legislature to amend the initiatives were unconstitutional. The case is now before the Michigan Supreme Court to decide if the actions of the Legislature were constitutional.

It is likely that SB 332 and/or HB 4574 will continue to move regardless of the outcome of the court case, as the bills would offer greater paid time off than the initiatives at issue in the case.

Below are details on the initiatives at issue before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Minimum Wage

The 2018 initiative would have increased minimum wage to $12/hour by 2022 and would increase with inflation each year thereafter. In 2018, the Legislature amended this initiative so that minimum wage would increase to $12 by 2030, rather than 2022 and to remove any inflationary adjustments. This is the current law, but was ruled invalid by the Michigan Court of Claims, pending appeal. You may view the legislation by clicking here.

Paid Sick Time

The 2018 initiative would have required employers to provide one hour of paid sick time to an employee for every 30 hours worked. Employees of small businesses (those with less than 10 employees) would be able to earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time and 32 hours of unpaid sick leave each year. Businesses with more than 10 employees would have to provide up to 72 hours of paid sick time. However, the Legislature amended this initiative in 2018 so that it applies only to businesses with more than 50 employees and caps the accrued amount of paid sick time to 40 hours annually. This is the current law, but was ruled invalid by the Michigan Court of Claims, pending appeal before the Michigan Supreme Court.

You may view the public act, and find summary documents, by clicking here.