Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday floated extending negotiations over pending court-ordered changes to Michigan’s minimum wage and paid sick leave policies slated to take effect Feb. 21, saying she wants a bipartisan deal as lawmakers continue to debate the policies.
Whitmer’s plan comes as Michigan lawmakers continue to debate legislation to preempt a Michigan Supreme Court ruling in July that essentially reinstates two minimum wage and sick leave initiatives from 2018 watered down by the GOP-controlled Legislature using a tactic the court determined was illegal.
Whitmer press secretary Stacey LaRouche reiterated the governor’s frustration with the actions GOP lawmakers took several years ago and said the governor hopes to see lawmakers from both parties come together to craft new minimum wage and sick leave policies.
“The administration has heard concerns about implementation of the new law, and the governor has made it clear that she is open to a bipartisan deal that protects servers and wait staff, while also providing certainty to small businesses and helping Michigan remain competitive,” LaRouche said in a statement. “Today, the governor called Speaker (Matt) Hall and Senate Majority Leader (Winnie) Brinks and encouraged them to keep working toward a bipartisan deal. If they are unable to reach an agreement by this week, she also encouraged them to pass a short-term extension through July 1.”
Hall in a statement Wednesday gave a status update on negotiations. “I have come to the table in good faith, trying to meet Senate Democrats halfway,” Hall said. “I will continue bringing people together for a solution that provides economic opportunity and gives our local workers the protections they deserve.”
House Republican plan would keep status quo for tipped workers
Whitmer’s call comes as the Michigan Senate’s Regulatory Affairs Committee took up a pair of bills introduced by Democrats on paid sick leave and minimum wage Wednesday. Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Michigan House last month passed separate bills crafted by Republicans on those policies.
House Bill 4001 passed in the House Jan. 23 and would increase the minimum wage this year to $12.00 an hour instead of $12.48 as ordered by the court. The bill also would preserve a tipped minimum wage of 38% of the regular minimum wage for workers, such as servers and bartenders, who receive gratuities from customers. The court’s order would eventually eliminate the tipped minimum wage by 2030. Currently, under the tip credit system, if customers’ tips don’t ensure such workers make the minimum wage, their employers pay the difference.
House lawmakers also passed House Bill 4002, which would exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from guaranteeing the paid sick leave in the court’s order, which requires businesses with 10 or more workers to provide up to at least 72 hours of paid sick leave annually.
Senate Democrats would raise, but not eliminate, tipped minimum wage
The Democratic bills introduced in the Democrat-led Senate take a different approach.
Senate Bill 8 would increase the minimum wage to $12.48 this year, $13.73 in 2026 and then $15 an hour in 2027, tying subsequent increases to inflation. It would gradually raise the tipped minimum wage until it hits 60% of the regular minimum by 2035.
Senate Bill 15 would require businesses with more than 25 employees, versus 10, to allow workers to accrue up to 72 hours of paid sick time, as a minimum. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would be classified as small businesses and have to allow workers to accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick time and another 32 hours of unpaid sick time.
Michigan Legislature: Senate opens debate on looming changes to paid sick leave in Michigan
To send changes on those policies to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her approval, lawmakers must pass the same version of the bills. They also could pass legislation to keep Michigan’s current minimum wage and sick leave policies in tact and leave the door open to negotiations over both items for the future.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer seeks bipartisan deal on minimum wage, sick leave
