Michigan’s minimum wage could go up twice next year.
The first increase will take place at the start of the year. That’s when the general minimum wage goes up to $10.10 an hour and the tipped minimum wage grows to $3.84 an hour, as part of a regularly scheduled annual increase.
The second increase is less certain. It would bump up the hourly minimum wage for many workers to $13.03 in February. Tipped workers would earn at least $11.73 an hour. But this further increase is at the center of a court battle.
“When you work full time, you should not live in poverty. We know what the cost of living is, and we need to value all work,” Dave Woodward, senior advisor to the One Fair Wage campaign, said of the second, potential increase. He pointed out the sizeable difference earning an extra few dollars per hour would have on an employee’s annual take-home salary.
The court battle over the $13-an-hour wage centers on an action by the Michigan Legislature in 2018. Lawmakers adopted a ballot measure backed by One Fair Wage into law before it went before voters. It laid out a schedule for wage increases. But after adopting the measure, the Legislature significantly weakened it later that same session in a practice known as “adopt and amend.”
A court ruled earlier this year that practice is unconstitutional and restored the law to its original form. The judge then stayed the effect of his decision until mid-February.
An appeals process is currently playing out, with arguments scheduled...
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