By Elena Durnbaugh
Stakeholders have been clamoring for lawmakers to address Michigan’s gradual increase in the minimum wage and back a move to eliminate the lower wage for workers who earn tips as well as the requirement for workers to accrue paid time off, which is set to go into effect next year.
Some businesses remain worried that the laws approved by the high court in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General (MSC Docket No. 165325) would be catastrophic on the wage and sick time fronts and want the Legislature to make changes.
A bipartisan bill package was introduced Thursday that would do just that.
Rep. Graham Filler (R-Duplain Township) and Rep. Nate Shannon (D-Sterling Heights) co-sponsored HB 6056 and HB 6057 , which would modify the laws.
“This is, to me, the No. 1 issue in the state of Michigan right now, form a policy-that-needs-to-get-done-in-lame-duck standpoint,” Filler said in a statement. “It’s going to blow up the restaurant industry, small businesses and the business atmosphere in Michigan in general.”
Business groups applauded the legislation as a good first step.
“While the bill that was introduced is limited in scope, it is a good first step toward making sure the Earned Sick Time Act is workable for employers and employees alike,” Wendy Block, senior vice president of Business Advocacy at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. “Absent action by the Michigan Legislature, employers will be forced to make drastic changes to their paid time off polices – even if they have a policy that meets or exceeds what’s required under the Act. While employers will be forced to make significant changes, it’s employees who will ultimately lose.”
Advocates are asking lawmakers to exempt employers with paid leave policies that meet or exceed the number of hours required under the act, add a small employer exemption or expand the current small employee threshold, require notification prior to the start of the shift, remove language allowing a private right of action and reputable presumption and allow employers to frontload time off to avoid complicated accruals and allow for more flexibility.
“Our region’s businesses call on our legislators to take immediate action and draft clear, reasonable, and flexible legislation,” said Caitlyn Stark, president and CEO of Traverse Connect in a statement. “Our business owners agree that this is not a partisan issue – without action, there will be devastating effects on the sustainability and growth of their businesses, which will cascade to the individuals and families dependent on their success.”
Other Republican lawmakers pushed for the Legislature to address the issue Thursday.
“We have to solve this issue,” Rep. Bill Schuette (R-Midland) said. “There is not a week that goes by where I don’t get multiple outreaches from my local small businesses and restaurants … We don’t want to be paying $35 for a slice of pizza and having everything be just a quick serve.”
House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland), the speaker-elect, also said the issue should be a priority, calling it a crisis for the restaurant industry.
“We need to act on that,” he said. “We also need to look at this paid leave program that the court is forcing on us, and we have to say, ‘What are the unintended consequences for the workers?’… My hope is to do it now. I think this is the biggest thing in the state right now to face in lame duck.”
House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) has not given any indication of what the House’s priorities will be before the end of the year.
Stakeholders have been clamoring for lawmakers to address Michigan’s gradual increase in the minimum wage and back a move to eliminate the lower wage for workers who earn tips as well as the requirement for workers to accrue paid time off, which is set to go into effect next year.
Some businesses remain worried that the laws approved by the high court in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General (MSC Docket No. 165325) would be catastrophic on the wage and sick time fronts and want the Legislature to make changes.
A bipartisan bill package was introduced Thursday that would do just that.
Rep. Graham Filler (R-Duplain Township) and Rep. Nate Shannon (D-Sterling Heights) co-sponsored HB 6056 and HB 6057 , which would modify the laws.
“This is, to me, the No. 1 issue in the state of Michigan right now, form a policy-that-needs-to-get-done-in-lame-duck standpoint,” Filler said in a statement. “It’s going to blow up the restaurant industry, small businesses and the business atmosphere in Michigan in general.”
Business groups applauded the legislation as a good first step.
“While the bill that was introduced is limited in scope, it is a good first step toward making sure the Earned Sick Time Act is workable for employers and employees alike,” Wendy Block, senior vice president of Business Advocacy at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. “Absent action by the Michigan Legislature, employers will be forced to make drastic changes to their paid time off polices – even if they have a policy that meets or exceeds what’s required under the Act. While employers will be forced to make significant changes, it’s employees who will ultimately lose.”
Advocates are asking lawmakers to exempt employers with paid leave policies that meet or exceed the number of hours required under the act, add a small employer exemption or expand the current small employee threshold, require notification prior to the start of the shift, remove language allowing a private right of action and reputable presumption and allow employers to frontload time off to avoid complicated accruals and allow for more flexibility.
“Our region’s businesses call on our legislators to take immediate action and draft clear, reasonable, and flexible legislation,” said Caitlyn Stark, president and CEO of Traverse Connect in a statement. “Our business owners agree that this is not a partisan issue – without action, there will be devastating effects on the sustainability and growth of their businesses, which will cascade to the individuals and families dependent on their success.”
Other Republican lawmakers pushed for the Legislature to address the issue Thursday.
“We have to solve this issue,” Rep. Bill Schuette (R-Midland) said. “There is not a week that goes by where I don’t get multiple outreaches from my local small businesses and restaurants … We don’t want to be paying $35 for a slice of pizza and having everything be just a quick serve.”
House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland), the speaker-elect, also said the issue should be a priority, calling it a crisis for the restaurant industry.
“We need to act on that,” he said. “We also need to look at this paid leave program that the court is forcing on us, and we have to say, ‘What are the unintended consequences for the workers?’… My hope is to do it now. I think this is the biggest thing in the state right now to face in lame duck.”
House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) has not given any indication of what the House’s priorities will be before the end of the year.
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