Michigan Supreme Court Reinstates Earned Sick Time Act, More Labor-Friendly Wage

The Michigan Supreme Court, overturning an appeals court ruling, has reinstated minimum wage and sick time laws specified in a citizen initiative. An article on law firm Plunkett Cooney’s employment law blog explains the background of the decision and the practical results. These include accelerated implementation of a hike in the minimum wage and a more generous version of the state’s Earned Sick Time Act, which supplants Michigan’s Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA). 

The article explains that the matter reached the Michigan Supreme Court because of conflicting interpretations of the state legislature’s options once a citizen initiative gets signatures from eight percent or more of the voting population (but before it’s put on the ballot).

In this case, the legislature opted for an “Adopt-and-Amend response.” In its July 31 decision, the court held that by “adopting these laws and then later stripping them of key features in the same legislative session, the Michigan Legislature overstepped initiative rights and violated the Michigan Constitution.”

Among the differences under the reinstated Earned Sick Time Act are that all employers are covered, not just those with 50 or more employees, and the law covers part-time and temporary workers.

Employees may use up to 72 hours of earned sick time per year instead of the 40 hours mandated under the PMLA, and employees are provided with a private right of action against an employer who interferes or retaliates because of earned sick time. 

The decision essentially reinstates the original wage plan: a minimum wage of $12.00 an hour by 2025. The legislature’s amendments had pushed that timetable out to 2030.

The decision also bumps the hourly rate slightly to approximately $12.50, starting on February 21. The estimated 50-cent difference is due to the requirement that the figure be based on the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation figures.

The article concludes by reminding employers of the February 21, 2025 deadline and suggesting that they consider revising their policies and handbooks in the interim.