On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, the Michigan Court of Claims ruled that the state legislature acted unconstitutionally when it adopted but then amended two 2018 ballot initiatives providing earned sick leave for most Michigan workers and increasing the minimum wage for all employees, eliminating the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. In 2018 the Michigan legislature attempted to preempt the ballot initiatives to avoid them becoming the law and not subject to amendment by the legislature. To circumvent that possibility, the legislature passed legislation identical to the proposals, but then set about immediately to amend the newly passed statutes in ways that were more acceptable and less disruptive to the business community.
Unless overruled, Tuesday's decision means that the original ballot proposals are now the law, significantly and immediately altering the wage and benefit landscape for virtually all employers and creating a whole new labor economy for the hospitality industry.
Paid Medical Leave
Under the current Michigan Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA), employers with more than 50 full- and part-time employees, other than the U.S. government and government entities of another state, are required to provide up to 40 hours of paid medical leave per year. The PMLA also allows employees to carry-over up to 40 hours of accrued paid medical leave per benefit year, but also permits employers to, in effect, coordinate paid medical leave with other forms of PTO, significantly...
IBM reached a settlement with the federal government on Friday, agreeing to pay roughly $17 million to resolve allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Acting Attorney Gen...