Attorneys for the Michigan Attorney General’s office and state Legislature delivered arguments in a court hearing over the future of Michigan’s minimum wage laws Tuesday.
A panel of Court of Appeals judges in Detroit heard arguments over a July court ruling that would see Michigan’s minimum wage rise to $13.03 an hour and raise the tipped minimum wage to $11.73 an hour starting in mid-February.
At issue is whether the Michigan Legislature has the constitutional authority to adopt petition initiatives as law and amend the initiatives in the same legislative session.
Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro previously ruled the Michigan Legislature acted unconstitutionally in 2018 when it adopted legislation created through a petition initiative originally intended to enact the wage changes, but in the same session amended the language to put in lower wage thresholds that increased the minimum wage to $12.05 by 2030 instead of 2022 and kept the tipped minimum wage at 38% of the standard one. The tipped minimum wage is the pay rate given to employees who are expected to make the bulk of their earnings through tips, like restaurant servers and bartenders.
Shapiro’s opinion cited articles in the Michigan Constitution that state the Legislature cannot amend or change laws brought forward by referendum or petition initiative within the same session. B. Eric Restuccia, deputy solicitor general and an attorney representing the Legislature, argued that since the Legislature adopted...
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