LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Minimum wage is set to increase to at least a universal $12 an hour in February after the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled the legislature’s action in 2018 was unconstitutional.
In a 4-3 ruling, the state’s highest court reversed an appeals court decision, siding with the Michigan Court of Claims that changes made by the legislature to a 2018 ballot initiative to raise wages were unconstitutional.
The 2018 ballot initiative would have set a schedule to raise the minimum wage and eliminate tipped wages, but it was taken off the ballot and adopted by the state legislature and amended. The changes to the proposal pushed back the original date for a $12 an-hour universal minimum wage from 2022 to 2030 and kept the adjusted tipped wages at just $3.93.
Justices Richard Bernstein, Kyra Bolden, Megan Cavanagh, and Elizabeth Welch held that the changes were unconstitutional, while Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement and Justices David Viviano and Brian Zahra dissented.
One Fair Wage, a grassroots organization that has been advocating for a minimum wage hike, praised the ruling. In a statement, OFW President Saru Jayaraman said in part, “Today’s court decision not only ensures that all workers in Michigan receive a raise; it also makes Michigan the eighth state to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers, the first state East of the Mississippi to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers, and the first state anywhere in over 40 years to do so.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called it a landmark victory for voters.
“The Legislature cannot manipulate its power to undermine the will of the people. This ruling sends a clear message that elected officials cannot disregard the voices of their constituents,” said Nessel.
Others are not happy with the ruling, including the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association. President and CEO Justin Winslow called it tone-deaf and an existential blow to Michigan workers.
“As our recent industry operations survey illustrated, 40% of full-service restaurants in Michigan are already unprofitable, meaning this decision is likely to force more than one in five of them to close permanently, eliminating up to 60,000 jobs along the way,” Winslow said in a statement. “We urgently call on the Michigan legislature to act swiftly, implementing a compromise solution that prevents this impending catastrophe before it is implemented.”
Michigan House Minority Leader Rep. Matt Hall said, “The Legislature must return to the Capitol immediately, because this decision will completely disrupt the livelihoods of hard-working Michiganders. Restaurants and other small businesses will have to raise their prices, tipped workers will take home less pay, and some people will lose their jobs.”
U.P. State Rep. Greg Markkanen agreed with Rep. Hall and the MRLA, expressing concern for businesses on the Michigan-Wisconsin border.
““These out-of-touch justices just crippled every single small business on our side of the Michigan-Wisconsin border,” said Rep. Markkanen. “[Small businesses are] all going to pack their bags and escape to other states, where they don’t have to deal with these radical new rules. The Legislature must act before the Michigan Supreme Court becomes the single greatest contributor to population growth in Wisconsin.”
The justices ruled the Wage Act and Earned Sick Time Act will go into effect on Feb. 21, 2025, 205 days after Wednesday’s ruling. The Court also ruled the acts will be on a revised schedule linking the gradual phase-in of wage increases to the same annual scheduled originally proposed but with inflation-adjusted rates for the minimum hourly wage outline provided in the Wage Act.
