In 2018, the Michigan legislature adopted, and then within the same legislative session amended, two voter-approved ballot initiatives, one to significantly raised Michigan’s minimum wage and the other to expand employer obligations to provide paid sick leave. In 2022, the Michigan Court of Claims held that the legislature’s actions violated the Michigan Constitution and ordered reinstatement of the ballot initiatives as originally presented.
However, in January 2023, prior to the ordered reinstatement date, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed that decision, concluding that the legislature did in fact possess such authority. The Michigan Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the matter and decide which version of the law is valid and, in doing so, whether the legislature has the authority under the Michigan Constitution to adopt and amend voter-approved ballot initiatives within the same legislative session. Mothering Justice et al. v. Attorney General and State of Michigan, Appeal No. 165325 (Mich. June 21, 2023).
Background
In the summer of 2018, the Michigan legislature was presented with two ballot initiatives, one to increase the minimum wage and the other to require employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. Under the Michigan Constitution as interpreted and applied for many decades prior, the legislature had three options for each initiative:
(1) Reject the initiative, in which case it would be placed on the November 2018 ballot for the voters to...
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