LANSING — A hike in the state minimum wage resulting from a court ruling that the Legislature violated the constitution in 2018, when it watered down two legislative initiatives, will be delayed until February, the judge who issued the ruling ordered Friday.
Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro said in a two-page order that a stay of his July 19 ruling is not legally justified, but it is still in the public interest to give employers and state agencies time to implement required changes.
On Friday, Shapiro put on hold until Feb. 19 his own ruling, which would restore those initiatives to their initial form. He issued the stay despite the fact he said his ruling is unlikely to be overturned in the interim.
Shapiro ruled July 19 that the Republican Legislature's adopt-and-amend strategy — used on a minimum wage legislative initiative and another for paid sick time — is unconstitutional.
The judge's initial ruling could have major implications for restaurant and bar workers and also for how future legislative initiatives, in which Michigan voters sign petitions to have the Legislature enact laws or send them to the ballot for a public vote, are handled.
In 2018, a petition initiative organized by One Fair Wage sought to allow voters to decide on raising Michigan’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022 and raise the minimum wage for tipped workers to 80% of the standard minimum wage in 2022, 90% in 2023 and ultimately match it in 2024.
But the Legislature that year adopted the...
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