The Michigan Legislature amended the state’s Wage Act on Feb. 20 in a compromise measure that accelerated the schedule of minimum wage increases but staved off a complete phaseout of the tip credit for workers who receive tips. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation, Senate Bill 8, the next day.
In 2018, Michigan voters passed sweeping ballot initiatives sharply increasing the state’s minimum wage and abolishing the tip credit for employees who routinely earn tips. The state Legislature attempted to lessen the impact of the ballot initiatives, but the Michigan Supreme Court invalidated the Legislature’s efforts on procedural grounds and upheld the original ballot initiatives as passed.
The court granted a 205-day grace period expiring on Feb. 21 before its order would take effect. On Feb. 20, the Legislature adopted 11th-hour amendments to lessen the potential blow of the voter-approved statutory changes upheld by the court.
On the heels of a Jan. 1, 2025, minimum wage increase to $10.56 per hour, Michigan’s minimum wage was scheduled to rise once again on Feb. 21, to $12.48 per hour, with the lift of the state Supreme Court’s stay. SB 8 left in place the scheduled Feb. 21 increase. It also imposed a larger-than-planned increase for Jan. 1, 2026, to $13.73 an hour (up from the original $13.29) and a revised formula for annual adjustments to the minimum wage rate.
SB 8 sharply reduced the scheduled Feb. 21 increase to the minimum...
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