State of Michigan attorneys appeal court order that would raise minimum wage
State attorneys have appealed a recent court ruling which found the Michigan Legislature unconstitutionally adopted and amended a pair of petition initiatives in 2018, including one which would have raised the state's minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022, a little more than $2 more per hour than it is currently.
Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro's Tuesday ruling voided a pair of laws adopted by the Legislature in 2018, instead returning the laws to the language originally proposed by petition organizers. In 2018, advocates for a higher minimum wage gathered signatures to raise the state's minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022 — but the Republican-led Legislature amended the initiative to gradually increase it over a longer time period, with it getting to $12.05 an hour in 2030.
More: Court: Legislature unconstitutionally amended minimum wage, sick time petition initiatives
The current minimum wage is $9.87 an hour for non-tipped workers and $3.75 an hour for tipped workers. As part of the original petition initiative, tipped workers would have the same minimum wage as non-tipped workers. A second petition initiative required businesses with more than 10 employees to provide paid sick hours for time accrued. The Legislature amended that initiative to exempt employers with fewer than 50 employees from the paid sick time requirements.
In addition to an appeal of Shapiro's ruling, the state has also filed a motion for a stay, which would delay the implementation of the originally proposed laws until a ruling is issued on the appeal. The state is seeking a decision from the Court of Appeals by Aug. 2.
The new laws created by Shapiro's ruling would come into effect Aug. 9, per the state's motion to stay. That would create untenable payroll structures for many restaurants and other employers, business advocates in Michigan say.
Shapiro wrote the Legislature acted unconstitutionally when it amended the petition initiatives in the same legislative session they were adopted, asserting that the Legislature circumvented the Michigan Constitution's provisions for citizen-led petitions.
In its appeal, state attorneys wrote there is nothing in the Michigan Constitution that spells out the Legislature cannot amend a petition it adopted in the same session.
"(T)he State’s view is that the Legislature has a plenary power to enact and amend laws under Article 4, which is uninhibited unless the Michigan Constitution expressly enjoins it. Without an express mandate to the contrary, the Legislature was free to adopt the voter-initiated laws and then substantially amend them in the same legislative session," attorneys wrote.
Attorneys noted the original petition language provided for a gradual increase to a $12 minimum wage by 2022, something that would not take place under the Court of Claims ruling.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan attorneys appeal court order that would raise minimum wage
