Michigan Republicans just voted to gut the minimum wage and paid sick leave bills they themselves passed a few months ago. Confusing? Just another Republican effort to block democracy and hurt working people at the same time. A minimum wage increase and paid sick leave measure were headed for voters’ ballots this November, so Republicans passed those bills to prevent voters from having a say. Then, after the election, they moved quickly to weaken the policies. The state Senate had voted on that last week, and the state House got to it Tuesday evening.
The minimum wage law would have increased the state's meager $9.25 per hour minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022, and included a $12 per hour minimum for tipped employees. The Republican changes slow the increase to $12.05 per hour by 2030, and caps the increase for tipped workers at $4.58 per hour.
Adjusted for inflation, the new minimum wage increase could end up being a pay cut for the state's lowest earners.
The paid sick time law would require employers to provide 72 hours of sick time annually, or nine days, while allowing one hour of sick time accrual for every 30 hours worked. The Republican amendment would reduce the number of sick days to four and exempts businesses with fewer than 50 employees, which represent about 1 million of the state's roughly 4.2 million workers. It would also require employees to work 40 hours to earn one hour of medical leave.
Republicans couldn’t face voters with arguments against a $12 minimum wage and paid sick leave on the ballot, so they did what comes naturally to them: dirty tricks. The plan now goes to outgoing Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature.