Michigan’s minimum and tipped wage legal battle could be moving onto the Michigan Supreme Court.
Supporters of the wage raise appealed to the state’s highest court for a reversal of an earlier Court of Appeals decision.
“We are prepared to go the distance for the workers and people in the state of Michigan,” said Chris White, director of the Restaurants Opportunities Center of Michigan, one of the defendants.
On Jan. 26, the Court of Appeals decided the Michigan legislature acted within its authority when lawmakers adopted a ballot proposal raising minimum wages and then delayed its implementation and stopped tipped wages from equaling standard minimum wages.
This decision prevented from going into effect minimum wages raises to $13.03 and $11.73 for tipped wages.
Defendants Mothering Justice, Michigan One Fair Wage, Michigan Time to Care and Restaurant Opportunities, along with two individuals, filed the appeal alleging the 2018 Legislature’s “adopt-and-amend” play was unconstitutional.
The appeal argues allowing the Legislature to adopt a ballot initiative and then amend it before it becomes law undermines the rights of voters and can be used to “gut initiatives” or “repeal them entirely.”
Pursuing the cause through the legal route rather than repetitioning would stop the “adopt-and-amend” action from happening to a future ballot proposal, White said.
“If we tried again, precedents would be set that you can adopt and amend,” he said. “We will be going around in circles,...
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