LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan’s lower tipped wage credit has been saved with a nearly-11th hour deal in the Legislature.
The state House and Senate had a deadline of midnight Friday to pass two bills to keep the tipped wage credit in place and block a 2018 ballot initiative on paid sick leave from going into effect Friday.
The House had tie-barred the two, meaning they both needed to be approved to be sent to Governor Whitmer. The Senate approved the bill on paid sick time at 10:40 p.m. Thursday.
State Representative Rachelle Smit of Martin joined WKZO Mornings with Ken Lanphear and was asked what took so long to get it passed.
The bill on paid sick leave prevented the law from changing to require companies with at least ten employees to give workers up to 72-hours of paid sick leave a year, and smaller companies would have had to provide at least 40 hours.
Small businesses won’t be required to offer at least 40-hours of paid sick leave until October 1 now.
Smit says Governor Gretchen Whitmer has received the bills.
She was asked who benefits the most – Michigan businesses or employees?
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last summer that the Republican majority Legislature in 2018 violated the state constitution when they approved and then amended a ballot initiative to raise minimum wage and provide paid sick time.
Minimum wage will go up to nearly $15 an hour in 2027, with the tipped wage being half of that. Tipped wages will stay at 38% of minimum wage this year.
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