21-02-2025
Gov. Whitmer signs bills on Michigan's minimum wage, sick time
In the final hours before Michigan's minimum wage was set to increase, lawmakers passed two bills that aimed to increase wages at a slightly slower rate.
On Friday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two bills into law: Senate Bill 8, which incrementally increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027, and House Bill 4002, which expands paid sick leave policies and prevents employers from requiring their workers to find their own replacements if they are ill.
Business owners and tipped workers called on lawmakers to protect the current wage rate. Workers repeatedly asked the legislature to slow down scheduled increases to the state minimum wage and protect the tipped wage.
"[Workers] can now begin the work of planning for their collective future with the knowledge that a tip credit has once again been preserved," said Justin Winslow, the CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association.
However, advocates for increased wages, like the organization One Fair Wage, argued that "... corporate-backed lawmakers ignored the will of the people and passed this bill to gut the minimum wage law before it could even take effect."
According to the bill's language, Michigan's minimum wage will increase in line with inflation after 2027.
In response to the change to the minimum wage plan, One Fair Wage announced they are beginning work on a referendum campaign. If the group and its coalition gather enough petition signatures to get on the ballot, voters would be able to decide on the new laws by vote.
