Michigan’s minimum wage is set to spike to $12 in February. Some business groups want Republicans to rein in the increase before they lose control of Lansing.
A Michigan Court of Claims judge struck down 2018 GOP amendments to paid sick leave and minimum wage initiatives. State attorneys are now seeking to delay enforcement during an appeal.
A victory for progressives, the ruling directs the state to immediately raise Michigan’s minimum wage from $9.87 to $12 an hour and eliminate a lower tipped wage for restaurant workers by 2024. It will likely be appealed.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s economic plan would also direct money to help parents offset childcare expenses and enable businesses to cover operational costs. She must negotiate the plan with a GOP-majority legislature.
The Court determined that it lacks jurisdiction to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of the “adopt and amend” strategy employed by Republican lawmakers in last year’s lame-duck session.
Does Michigan’s constitution allow the legislature to adopt and amend citizen initiatives in the same two-year term, or does it explicitly prohibit the practice? It’s now up to the state’s highest court to decide.
Michigan’s Supreme Court justices should restore the minimum wage increase that the public wanted last year – and the Legislature weakened in lame duck.
Michigan’s high court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on whether Republican efforts to pass the ballot measure, then gut it, violated the constitution. That does not mean the court will decide the matter, at least right now.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said she will not write an opinion on last-minute GOP changes to wage and sick leave laws passed in December. Instead, she deferred to the state Supreme Court on whether the changes were constitutional.
The state’s high court will hear arguments in July on whether the Legislature followed the rules when it watered down the impact of citizen-drafted legislation to raise Michigan’s minimum wage and require employers to offer paid sick leave. But the court stopped short of saying it will issue an opinion.
Attorney General Dana Nessel and the state Supreme Court may yet weigh in on whether the Legislature violated the Michigan constitution in passing, then gutting, these laws during lame duck. The controversy may end in court.
Bad blood still remains after the GOP-controlled Legislature adopted citizen initiatives only to gut them later. Now, they want the Supreme Court to rule on whether lawmakers have that power.
A request from the Republican-majority Legislature would sidestep the traditional litigation process, and do an end-run around Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said she may review Michigan lame-duck laws that gutted citizen proposals to raise the minimum wage and require paid sick leave. Her stance could produce a high-impact legal showdown with Republicans.
The term-limited Republican governor said he agreed with the GOP Legislature that the original laws passed earlier this year would harm economic progress in Michigan. Advocates for workers vowed a lawsuit.
The bills passed Tuesday in the House gut laws to raise Michigan’s minimum wage and require employers to offer paid sick leave. One prominent lawmaker says governor has promised to sign the bills.
The House may vote as soon as Tuesday afternoon on bills that would largely gut citizen-pushed laws to raise Michigan’s minimum wage and require employers to offer paid sick leave. Gov. Rick Snyder hasn’t said if he will sign.
Michigan senators approved major changes to two citizen-backed laws that would increase worker pay and benefits, hours after presenting the changes to the public. Critics say the move leaves the public in the dark.
Changes are likely to the citizen-initiated laws the Republican Legislature passed in September. Proponents of the changes say they’re critical to protect small business. Opponents say they violate the will of the people.
