On July 19, 2022, a state judge in Michigan’s Court of Claims held that the state legislature violated the Michigan Constitution in 2018 when, during a lame-duck session, it overhauled revisions to Michigan’s minimum wage and tip law and newly created paid sick and safe time law1 only months after it adopted as law two proposed ballot measures2 covering these topics. The judge voided the legislature’s lame-duck session version of the laws –i.e., laws in effect since March 29, 2019 – and ordered that the standards as initially proposed and adopted be deemed “the” law. If the decision stands – because it is either not appealed or, if appealed, it is upheld by a state appeals court and/or the state supreme court – it will have a significant impact concerning pay and paid leave practices in Michigan.
What the Decision Says. Concerning the legislature’s “adopt-and-amend strategy,” the judge held that the Michigan Constitution “does not permit the Legislature to adopt a proposed law and, in the same legislative session, substantially amend or repeal it”; otherwise, “it would mean that anytime a simple majority of the Legislature opposed the content of an initiative, it could, by legislative sleight-of-hand, prevent the initiative from ever becoming law without ever allowing the People to vote on it.” Instead, per the judge, “the Legislature’s only options for responding to a voter-initiated proposed law are [] to (1) adopt the law, (2) reject the law [and send it to voters], or...
; ; ; agreed to pay $17.07 million to settle federal allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices on Friday, marking the Justice Department's first resolution unde...