On July 19, 2022, the Michigan Court of Claims held that, in 2018, the state legislature violated the Michigan Constitution when it enacted, and within the same legislative session amended, two ballot initiatives, one to raise the minimum wage and the other to require employers to provide paid sick leave. Now, citing public concerns over the ability of employers and the relevant state agencies to immediately implement the changes required by its decision, the court has granted a stay of its order until February 20, 2023.
Absent a further stay by the Michigan Court of Appeals or the Michigan Supreme Court, or absent further – albeit unlikely – action by the legislature, the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA) (the minimum wage law) and the Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA) will remain in effect until February 20, 2023. Thereafter, the ballot initiatives as they originally existed in 2018 will become law, and with them the corresponding minimum wage and paid sick leave obligations.
When presented with the ballot initiatives in 2018, the Michigan legislature could have rejected them, in which case they would have been placed on the November 2018 ballot for the voters to either approve or disapprove; they could have been adopted and enacted without modification; or the legislature could have proposed alternatives, which would then be placed on the ballot alongside the initiative(s), with the option receiving the most votes becoming law. Undisputedly, if it...
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