Lansing — A Michigan judge delayed on Friday the fallout of a ruling that could bring a hike in the state's minimum wage and new statewide requirements for paid sick leave, saying there were "justified concerns" about employers' ability to immediately accommodate the changes.
Michigan Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro issued an order on Friday, 10 days after he decided a pair of 2018 voter-initiated laws should be put into effect and deemed Republican lawmakers' strategy to circumvent them unconstitutional.
In his past decision, Shapiro declared GOP-backed laws that altered the original initiatives on the minimum wage and sick leave "voided." The original initiatives, which were the result of statewide petition campaigns, "remain in effect," Shapiro wrote.
Attorneys for the state sought to delay enforcement of the ruling, arguing that businesses and residents deserved predictability.
Shapiro said those seeking to appeal his decision were "not likely to prevail on the merits." But the judge said it was in the public interest to stay the effect of the decision for a period of time equivalent to how long it would have taken the original initiatives to take effect over 2018 and 2019: 205 days.
Under his order, the initiatives would now take effect on Feb. 19, 2023.
But further litigation is expected in the meantime.
In 2018, Michigan One Fair Wage circulated petitions to have voters consider a proposal to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022 from $9.25, at the...
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