As the clock ticks down, Michigan is just hours away from implementing new minimum wage and paid sick leave laws.
Last summer, the Michigan Supreme Court mandated these laws to take effect on Feb. 21, 2025.
The court ruled that the Republican-controlled legislature acted unconstitutionally in 2018 when they adopted and subsequently diluted the minimum wage and paid sick leave ballot initiatives.
Businesses have been preparing for months for the laws.
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The staff at Buddy’s Pizza gathered in the conference room at their Farmington Hills headquarters for strategy sessions.
The results of those sessions are written on the whiteboard.
“Way back when we first started talking about what the new minimum wage requirements were going to be, what the new tipped wage requirements were going to be, what the new paid time off was going to be, we came in here and started charting out what the ramifications and effects would be,” Buddy’s Pizza CEO Joe Dominiak said.
But the state legislature is working to modify those laws, leaving businesses in limbo.
“We have like 12 hours to get this done, probably less than that now. And so, we have to reach across the aisle a little further their way. But I’ll say this: they’re also coming our way too in the conversations. And so, I feel optimistic that we’ll be able to get something done tonight,” House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said.
The minimum wage bill, Senate Bill 8, is on its way to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.
This bill is linked to paid sick leave legislation, which is still under negotiation. Both bills must be signed into law to take effect.
“We just like our elected officials to make a decision and act quickly and understand that the longer they delay on this and the longer they kind of kick this can, there’s more than just financial impact at a restaurant,” Dominiak said.
Grace Keros, owner of American Coney Island in downtown Detroit, has been a vocal critic of the new laws and has urged lawmakers to act.
“Restaurants, in particular, have been hit hard, and any politician or the powers that be don’t realize this are clueless and shouldn’t have their job,” said Keros.
The minimum wage law phases out the tipped wage over several years.
Senate Bill 8 would gradually increase the tipped wage to 50% of the standard minimum wage by 2031.
The earned sick time law allows employees of large employers to receive at least 9 sick days.
“All of AZUL Hospitality Group’s full-time associates already receive paid time off. My understanding is this may only potentially impact our part-time associates. We are also already paying our servers and bartenders over the proposed tipped hourly minimum wages,” said Jon Coutts, Managing Director of AZUL Hospitality Group, which includes Monarch Club, Buhl Bar, Lone Goat, and Hammer & Nail in Detroit.
One Fair Wage is preparing to mobilize voters for a statewide referendum if Senate Bill 8 becomes law.
“The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that these wage increases should be implemented, yet lawmakers are attempting to roll them back before they even take effect,” One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman said in a news release. “We’re mobilizing to ensure voters—not politicians—have the ultimate say in whether these protections are upheld.”