A guide to Michigan's new paid sick leave law
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law new paid sick leave requirements for Michigan employers Friday modifying court-ordered changes that would have expanded sick leave to almost every worker in the state.
This legislative debate over Michigan's sick leave law goes back to 2018, when lawmakers took up voter-initiated sick leave legislation. The GOP-controlled Legislature adopted the voter initiative — circumventing a statewide vote on the measure — and later watered it down after the election. The Michigan Supreme Court in July ruled this "adopt and amend" maneuver illegal and ordered the original proposal to take effect starting Friday.
But hours after the court-ordered changes were scheduled to take effect, Whitmer signed House Bill 4002 Friday which once again changed the original sick leave initiative. The bill passed 81-29 in the Michigan House of Representatives and 26-10 in the Michigan Senate. Every Republican state lawmaker voted for the legislation while Democrats were divided with most voting against it.
Whitmer and the lawmakers who supported the sick leave legislation heralded it as a bipartisan compromise to protect workers and businesses.
"House Republicans have been advocating for the people of Michigan, and compared to what was coming, this legislation helps Michigan workers keep good jobs, income, and benefits, and it improves conditions for small businesses," said bill sponsor state Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay, in a statement Friday.
But Mothering Justice — which advocated for the sick leave policy and brought the lawsuit that led to the Michigan Supreme Court order to implement it — voiced frustration with lawmakers' intervention. "While our movement of mobilized women, particularly mothers of color, built unprecedented momentum and showed the power of grassroots organizing, the version of (Earned Sick Time Act) that was passed today is a massive loss for workers across Michigan," said Mothering Justice Executive Director Danielle Atkinson in a statement Friday.
Here's a look at the new sick leave requirements in Michigan:
Michigan law previously required large employers with 50 or more employees to give their workers up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year. The new law now provides sick leave to those working at small businesses too. It does not cover federal workers, independent contractors, unpaid trainees and interns and workers under 18.
Small businesses — defined as those with 10 or fewer workers — must provide 40 hours of paid sick leave each year. While larger businesses must provide 72 hours of paid sick leave. Workers accrue sick leave at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.
In lieu of accrual, employers could front-load sick leave hours at the beginning of the year to be used immediately. Employers that use the accrual method must let their workers carry over unused sick time each year while employers that front-load sick time don't have to do so.
The law sets the minimum amount of paid sick leave employers must provide their workers. Employers could choose to provide more time.
The pay rate for sick time is the worker's normal hourly wage or the regular minimum wage for workers who receive customer tips and are paid the lower tipped minimum wage. Sick leave pay does not include overtime pay, holiday pay, bonuses, commissions, supplemental pay, piece-rate pay, tips or gratuities.
The new deadline for small businesses to start providing 40 hours of paid sick leave to their workers is Oct. 1. Under the court's order, the sick leave requirements for small businesses would have both taken effect Friday when they did for large businesses.
The law provides a runway for new small businesses to start complying with the sick leave requirements. Under the new law, if a small business did not employ anyone on or before Feb. 21, 2022 it has three years after employing its first worker to comply with the sick leave requirements.
Under the new law, workers can use sick leave when needed for their own or a family member's health issues, preventative care and treatment and legal action following domestic violence or sexual assault. Workers could also use sick leave during public health emergencies that close their workplace or a child's school or child care facility.
The new law extends the waiting period an employer can put in place before a new employee can start using paid sick leave by one month. The initiative originally proposed letting employers set a 90-day waiting period for new workers to use earned sick time. The new law expands that to 120 days.
Workers who leave a job and are rehired by the same employer within two months will receive the sick time they previously accrued.
Workers whose collective bargaining agreements conflict with the new sick leave law won't be impacted by the new law until their agreement expires unless the agreement has no sick leave benefits, according to a summary of the law from the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
Michigan lawmakers reach deal: Gov. Whitmer signs Michigan tipped minimum wage, paid sick leave bills into law
The new sick leave law removed a provision in the original proposal that would have allowed workers to bring a civil lawsuit against an employer alleging a violation.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who voted against House Bill 4002, voiced concern about the move by lawmakers to strike that language in a Facebook post Friday.
"The law that was originally slated to go into effect today included a private right of action. Essentially what that means is that if a worker is being mistreated by their employer with regard to earned paid sick time, that worker could take their employer to court," she wrote. "In House Bill 4002, the private right of action was REMOVED from the law. That means that workers now will lack this tool and the legislature chose to take away this important accountability mechanism."
Under the new sick leave law, alleged violations of the sick leave act can be filed with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's Wage and Hour Division for investigation which could lead to sick pay, back pay and job reinstatement in the case of a layoff if a violation occurred. Employers that retaliate against workers face a $1,000 fine for each violation. Employers that don't provide sick leave to a worker face a civil fine of not more than eight times the worker's hourly wage. Employers that willfully violate notice and posting requirements about the new law could face a $100 fine for each violation.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan has a new sick leave law. How it works
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