Effort to increase Michigan's minimum wage could decrease it for some

A dispute over whether a Michigan petition billed as an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour was mistakenly drafted to lower the wage for many workers kept the proposal from going to the Democratically-controlled state Legislature for now.

The state's elections panel deadlocked along party lines on a vote on whether organizers behind the petition collected enough voter signatures. Both Democratic members voted to certify the petition while the GOP members voted against certification. In response to the impasse, Raise the Wage plans to challenge the board's vote in court to ensure lawmakers can take up their proposal.

The Raise the Wage petition proposes increasing Michigan's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027. But the petition language would change the definition of employer in Michigan law from a person, firm or corporation employing two or more employees to employing 21 or more employees.

The original petition submitted to the Bureau of Elections proposed modifying the current definition of an employer as one "who employs 2 or more employees" by striking out the "2" and replacing it with "1." But organizers circulated a petition that removed that strike-through.

The revision to the employer definition would exempt small businesses, which could pay the lower federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, lower than Michigan's current $10.10 an hour minimum wage. About 18% of Michigan employees worked at firms employing fewer than 21 workers, according to the most recent data from the Michigan Center for Data Analytics. So while the Raise the Wage proposal would increase the minimum wage for nearly 82% of Michigan workers, it could open the door to small businesses paying the federal minimum wage.

Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage backing the petition, said she hopes the proposal doesn't do that and said she would need to do a legal analysis. But she said that the Raise the Wage petition was modified to create an exemption for small businesses because the campaign was "dealing with a very hostile Legislature." Republicans controlled the Legislature when Raise the Wage submitted its first petition and began circulating its revised petition to collect voter signatures.

Mark Brewer, an attorney representing Raise the Wage, told canvassers the change wasn't a mistake. But he subsequently told members of the Board of State Canvassers that regardless of whether the proposed update to the employer definition was an error or intentional, the canvassers had a legal duty to certify the petition because organizers had collected enough signatures.

Republican canvassers pushed back. GOP canvasser Tony Daunt called it an "absolutely egregious error." GOP canvasser Richard Houskamp said he found it hard to believe organizers trying to raise the minimum wage intended to lower it for some Michigan workers. "Common sense would indicate you had an error and it just didn't get caught," Houskamp told Brewer.

"It's not for this body to decide whether it was a mistake," Brewer said.

Democratic canvassers took a different position than their GOP colleagues. Democratic canvasser Mary Ellen Gurewitz described the dispute as a fight over the substance of the petition and outside of the board's purview. The Bureau of Elections found that organizers obtained enough voter signatures and recommended certifying the petition to advance the proposal to the state Legislature.

Michigan Opportunity — a coalition of state business organizations — accused Raise the Wage of deceiving voters who signed the petition assuming it would increase the minimum wage for workers across the board when it could potentially decrease wages for workers at small businesses. "We commend the decision by the Board of Canvassers not to place this error-riddled and misleading effort on the ballot," said Michigan Opportunity spokesperson John Sellek.

But during the canvassers' meeting, Brewer told Andrea Hansen, a lawyer for Michigan Opportunity, that the group should have embraced rather than rejected the petition. "I think many of Ms. Hansen's clients would love this proposal, so I'm mystified why she opposes it here this morning," he said.

After the deadlock, Gurewitz said she expects Raise the Wage to file a lawsuit and the court to tell the board they must certify the petition.

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When the Board of State Canvassers determines a piece of voter-initiated legislation — like the Raise the Wage petition — receives enough support, the proposal heads to the state lawmakers for consideration. Lawmakers can approve the measure or send it directly to voters with the proposal appearing on the 2024 ballot. Legislators could also propose an alternate proposal and let voters decide between the two.

In theory, if the board certifies the Raise the Wage proposal, the Democratically-controlled Legislature could scrap the proposed update to the employer definition so it would raise the minimum wage for all workers, giving voters the option to decide between a proposal that would boost wages and one that would reduce them for some workers.

Lawmakers could also mimic what Republicans did with the most recent initiative to increase the minimum wage though that could create legal risks. In 2018, GOP lawmakers essentially watered down an initiative on wages and paid sick leave, prompting a lawsuit currently before the Michigan Supreme Court. Justices could soon decide whether lawmakers have the authority to adopt and amend voter-initiated legislation in the same session.

Jayaraman sees a third option. She wants lawmakers to adopt the Raise the Wage proposal as is and pass a second measure to apply to those employed at small businesses to ensure an across-the-board minimum wage increase for all workers.

"We want it to be universal," she said.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan elections panel deadlocks on minimum wage proposal