Q: I had heard that because of some court case the minimum wage was going up by $3 per hour this year. When I asked my supervisor about it, she said the minimum wage this year is $10.10 per hour, and I should be happy I’m getting more than that. I only make $11 per hour, and was looking forward to the raise. What happened?
A: It’s a complicated story that begins back in 2018, when a group called One Fair Wage got enough signatures to present a citizen-initiated proposal to raise the minimum to the state legislature. The proposal would have bumped the minimum wage 60 to 75 cents each year until it reached $12.00 in 2022 – after which it would be adjusted for inflation every year.
Under Michigan law, when the legislature receives a citizen-initiated proposal, it can adopt it as written, reject it (in which case it appears on the November ballot) or reject it and place the legislature’s own competing proposal on the ballot. The wage increase had gathered a lot of popular support – although businesses opposed the measure — and it looked like it would pass if left to the voters in November.
And, here’s an important fact about Michigan’s law on citizen petitions: If a citizen-initiated proposal is voted into law at the ballot box, a three-quarters majority in the legislature is required to amend it; if the legislature enacts it as written, it can be amended by a simple majority vote. In 2018, Republicans held the majority in both the House and Senate – but did not have the kind...
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