Michigan lawmakers reach agreement on paid sick time ahead of Friday deadline

Paid sick time law heads to Michigan governor

A bill expanding paid sick time for workers at small businesses in Michigan is headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk after lawmakers passed it late Thursday.

LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Michigan Senate reached a deal on a statewide earned sick leave policy before the Friday deadline.

In a statement from the Michigan Senate Chamber, lawmakers approved an amended paid sick leave policy. They credited strong cooperation between both sides of the legislature to reach an agreement 72 minutes before the approaching deadline.

This bill was tie-barred with a minimum wage bill that was approved by the house on Wednesday and the Senate last week.

"Michiganders should be able to care for themselves and their loved ones when they are sick without fear of jeopardizing their wages or losing their jobs," said Sen. Sam Singh. "This legislation was thoughtfully crafted from extensive discussions held with workers and businesses alike and significantly improves earned sick leave access and Michigan’s national standing in providing it."

Dig deeper:

Lawmakers say the amended bill, HB 4002, would guarantee access to earned sick time for workers by requiring larger businesses to provide a minimum of 72 hours of earned sick time to full-time employees.

"Emergencies and illnesses are a part of life, and our core mission with this legislation is to help Michiganders sleep at night knowing that there is a reasonable amount of cushion for them when the unpredictable happens," said Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks. "This bill is informed by the people of Michigan and negotiated in good faith across bipartisan lines, and in years to come, other states will be modeling their own laws on what we passed today."

The bill now moves back to the House for final concurrence before heading to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's desk for her signature.

If Whitmer passes the bill, businesses will have until October to implement the change.

The backstory:

On Wednesday, the Michigan House of Representatives approved a scaled-back version of the state's incoming tipped wage law, which reduces the increase that restaurant workers would earn while speeding up an increase to the minimum wage.

Meanwhile, the Michigan Senate passed the same bill last week following negotiations between Republican and Democratic lawmakers, hoping to address concerns from small businesses who are concerned the wage hike could force them to close.

The bill, SB 8, amends a law that was scheduled to go into effect on Friday, Feb. 21. Instead of the minimum tipped wage rate being 48% of Michigan's minimum wage, it would be 38% of the minimum wage.

SB 8 pushes an upcoming minimum wage hike to next year, with plans for it to reach $15 by 2027 - a year earlier than planned. The increased minimum wage scheduled for Friday is $12.48 an hour.

However, the bill also reduces the amount a worker who makes tips can earn. Instead of reaching 100% of the minimum wage by 2030, tipped workers would receive 50% of the minimum wage by 2031.

Timeline:

The amended law includes the following schedule increase for minimum tipped wages:

Jan. 1, 2026 – 40% of minimum wage
Jan. 1, 2027 - 42% of minimum wage
Jan. 1, 2028 - 44% of minimum wage
Jan. 1, 2029 - 46% of minimum wage
Jan. 1 2030 - 48% of minimum wage
Jan. 1, 2031 - 50% of minimum wage

The amendment also changes the schedule of minimum wage increases:

Feb. 21, 2025 - $12.48
Jan. 1, 2026 - $13.73
Jan. 1, 2027 - $15

Big picture view:

In 2018, a ballot proposal that called for raising Michigan's minimum wage was set to go before voters.

However, the Republican-majority legislature decided that instead of allowing the initiative to go on the midterm ballot in November, it would directly adopt the proposal into law.

Then, during the lame duck session - the period of time after election day but before the new governing session took effect - the legislature watered down the proposal.

The decision was the subject of a legal case that took years to move through the court system. Eventually, the Democratic-led high court ruled the decision was unconstitutional.

The Source: FOX 2 used information from a press release by Michigan lawmakers in Lansing, and from previous stories.

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