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HOLLAND TWP. — Starting this week, Michigan’s minimum wage is above $10 for the first time, part of a phased increase under state law.
Pay could jump even higher come late February, and tipped workers would see the biggest increase, from $3.84 to $11.73 an hour. By next year, the tipped minimum wage could be gone entirely.
“These changes are way overdue,” said Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage, the group behind the petition that sparked the changes.
In 2018, advocates tried raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2022 by putting it on the ballot. But Republican lawmakers prevented that from happening by jumping in and changing the law so the increase wouldn’t happen until 2030.
In July 2022, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that move unconstitutional. But since the case is under appeal, the change won't take effect until Feb. 19. Higher courts could still torpedo the plan.
But it's the tipped pay increase, specifically, that restaurant owners fear.
Mike Karas, owner of Salt and Pepper Pub in Holland Township, said the wage increase would cost him $300,000 a year.
“I know three restaurants that closed this week in Holland alone,” Karas said. “The timing is awful.”
On a typical night, Karas has 11 to 12 servers working on the tip credit wage. If the changes go through, he said he might have to lay off half of those employees.
“We kind of have a gun to our head,” Karas said. “We don’t have a choice at this point.”
Menu prices would also rise, Karas...
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