Lansing — A Michigan judge ruled Tuesday a pair of 2018 voter-initiated laws increasing the minimum wage and instituting paid sick-leave requirements for employers should be put into effect, saying Republican lawmakers' strategy to circumvent them violated the Constitution.
The decision from Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro threw a new wrinkle into a pivotal election year in the battleground state, potentially putting a $12 an hour minimum wage into effect. The current hourly minimum wage is $9.87.
Shapiro declared GOP-backed laws that altered the original initiatives and kept off the ballot the original proposals "voided." The original initiatives, which were the result of statewide petition campaigns, "remain in effect," Shapiro wrote.
Tuesday's ruling, which was nearly four years in the making, is expected to face an appeal, through which the sudden changes would likely be delayed.
Mark Brewer, former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party and a lawyer who has represented the committees that backed the proposals, called the decision a "tremendous victory for working people and the initiative process."
However, Tuesday's developments could have a "crippling effect" on Michigan employers and employees, said Wendy Block, vice president of business advocacy and member engagement for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
"While we are still sorting through the details, we are stunned by this determination and its many varied implications," Block said.
In 2018, Michigan...
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