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The tipped wage will be phased out over five years. By 2030, all employees should be around a $15-an-hour minimum wage, based on calculations made from the Supreme Court decision. In ruling that the Legislature doesn’t have the constitutional authority to adopt the One Fair Wage ballot initiative and then immediately amend it, the Supreme Court laid out an implementation schedule that mirrors what framers of the 2018 initiative had in mind, adjusted for inflation. The framers envisioned a $10 minimum wage going into effect 205 days from its adoption. Likewise, 205 days from the decision in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General is Feb. 21, 2025. A $10 minimum wage today is $12.29, according to an online inflation calculator used by MIRS. The inflation rate used to officially set the wage will be calculated by the Department of Treasury, which is still reviewing the decision, according to a spokesperson. The tipped wage in the first year of the One Fair Wage initiative was 48% of the minimum wage. This percentage will gradually increase until it’s 100 percent by 2030. That puts the tipped workers at about $5.90 an hour in 2025, about $7.85 an hour in 2026 and onward until about $15 in 2030. The above numbers are rough estimates. The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the state Treasurer are working together to calculate the official inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage, which will be released at a later time. “We are committed to collaborating with the labor and business communities on educational outreach to ensure a thorough understanding and smooth implementation of the court’s ruling,” said LEO spokesperson Jason Moon. Likewise, the new paid sick leave policy – which allows all employees one hour of paid sick leave time for every 30 hours worked – will go into effect 205 days from the court ruling, which is Feb. 21, 2025. Under the new policy, an employee can use up to 72 hours or about nine eight-hour days of paid sick leave a year. “This is a great day for the more than 494,000 workers in Michigan who are getting a raise," said One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman. "We have finally prevailed over the corporate interests who tried everything they could to prevent all workers, including restaurant workers, from being paid a full, fair wage with tips on top.” Jayaraman said that the ruling means Michigan will be the eighth state, and the first east of the Mississippi River, to end the separate tipped wage for workers and the first state in more than 40 years. “It’s clear tipped workers don’t just need a tax exemption – they need living wages with tips on top,” he said. One Fair Wage was scheduled to hold a celebratory event this afternoon in Detroit. The culture change away from tipped wages will be “devastating” to restaurants and other establishments that rely on tipped workers, said Wendy Block, senior vice president of advocacy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. “We should expect nothing less than the closure of restaurants across Michigan and a reduction in workforce,” she said. Likewise, the new “one size fits all” earned sick leave policy is not likely to work out in employees’ favor, she said. By creating a separate sick leave policy, businesses will be saddled with a “costly and administrative burden” “It’s hard to imagine how businesses big and small will make these changes without cutting back drastically elsewhere,” Block said. A coalition of tipped workers called Save MI Tips reported that 2,900 jobs were lost in Washington D.C. in the year after the tip credit was eliminated there. They are estimating 45,000 Michigan servers and other employees will lose their jobs as a result of this decision. The Michigan Retailers Association said the 205 days gives the legislature time to make the “necessary updates to some of the most egregious components of the law.” Tom Lenard, Michigan Director for the State Innovation Exchange and member of the MI Time to Care Coalition, said in response: “Every worker in Michigan benefits when they have access to paid sick days and higher wages. What we’ve seen in state after state is that these types of policies support families and the economy. Scare tactics by corporate business lobbyists should be called out for what they are – weird, weak, and wrong.” One of the closest races is in the 107th House District, where Parker Fairbairn of Harbor Springs is challenging Rep. Neil Friske (R-Charlevoix). Fairbairn has spent more than $120,000, and Republican insiders speaking on background said the race is neck-and-neck (See Gongwer Michigan Report, July 30, 2024). Both candidates are familiar with each other having run in a hotly contested primary two years ago, but the key difference in 2024 is it’s a one-on-one race. "My name recognition is quite good in the district," Fairbairn told Gongwer in an interview last month. "We’re in the perfect position we want to be in, so we’re just going to keep the hammer down." One Republican consultant speaking on background said that although Friske might squeak through the primary, he would end up with an equally competitive general election on his hands, even though the district is typically a safe Republican seat. It’s not an overwhelmingly Republican seat, but a Democrat has not won it since 2008. Another well-known and controversial member of the House’s right-wing is Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford), who represents the 51st District. His primary opponent, Kevin Ziegler, has attacked Maddock for being too extreme and being more concerned with national, sensationalized issues than with local issues (See Gongwer Michigan Report, May 3, 2024). Ziegler outspent Maddock in the lead up to the primary, but he also reported having a negative cash balance heading into the primary after raising $11,178 and spending $19,440. He also reported providing $15,000 of his own funds to his race. He was also endorsed by The Detroit News and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, but people within the district said that they’ve seen very little from him in terms of mail or door-to-door campaigning. Maddock reported raising $3,455 and spending $16,600, leaving him with $47,278 on hand. Republican insiders speaking on background said that Maddock will likely come through the primary comfortably because he’s well-known and well-established in the politics of the area. "Matt is a known quantity to these people," one source said. "He’s also a known fighter." Maddock, not surprisingly, agreed. "Campaign is going great," he said. "Tons of people have already voted, and the best thing is hearing they’re voting for me because the Free Press and Detroit News told them not to." Similarly, Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) may have less of a race on his hands in the 66th District than what people may have predicted earlier this year, though one source said his challenger, Randy Levasseur, who has received endorsements, may pull some votes away. Still, another source said that Schriver has been doing everything he should to campaign, hitting the doors hard. Schriver, according to one source, has knocked more doors than any other Republican using the Oakland County GOP database. In the 36th House District, Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) is facing a two-way primary challenge (See Gongwer Michigan Report, May 3, 2024). Michael Malmborg and Sturgis Mayor Frank Perez, who are running against Carra, said they were running against him because he wasn’t serving on any committees in Lansing and wasn’t getting anything done. "People are starting to realize that being so divisive and so hateful toward one another is not actually moving our country forward. It’s not moving our state forward, and really pushing through policies that are going to be effective and make a change in people’s lives," Malmborg told Gongwer in an interview earlier this year. "You don’t want to compromise everything, but you have to understand that it can’t be my way or the highway in order to move legislation forward." The two-way primary may help Carra though, as voters who may not support his approach to Lansing will be divided into two separate camps, Republicans with knowledge of the race said. This is what happened in the 2020 and 2022 Republican primaries. The conservative wing of the House GOP caucus seems to be sticking together, too, with a digital ad for Friske dropped Friday that includes appearances from Maddock and Carra. "Representative Neil Friske is one of the few people who has stood behind what he said he was going to do," Carra said in the ad. "We need to have more people like him in Lansing." Maddock and Schriver also are getting outside support from the Make Liberty Win PAC. Although there are many people who don’t like these officials or who believe they’re ineffective, that doesn’t mean they won’t be elected, a source knowledgeable of the races said. "There’s a reason these people got elected in the first place," the source said. "The ultra-conservative, right-wing brand plays in the district."
The Michigan Realtors, Zillow and Department of Licensing and Regulator Affairs supported the Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) bill after some homeowners complained about being locked into agreements with a broker that lasted for decades and required them to pay excessive cancelation fees to get rid of the lien on their home. DCD OUT AND ABOUT:
It’s been a busy Summer at DCD! Senator Mat and Jake German have been very busy during the legislative break, whether it be addressing client groups in preparation for policy issues we anticipate moving in the Fall, working with various candidates on campaigns, or having strategic meetings with national leaders, DCD is constantly working on behalf of our clients! Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve you! DCD IS A FULL-SERVICE, BI-PARTISAN, MULTI-CLIENT LOBBYING FIRM REMEMBER ALL OF DCD’S SERVICES: ***Talk to us about REFERENDUMS & BALLOT INITATIVES*** **WORK WITH US ON LOCAL LOBBYING & DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS** ***CAMPAIGN SIGNATURE GATHERING*** ***ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDING: GRANTS – CDBG’S – BROWNFIELD – TIF’S*** ***FEDERAL, STATE, & LOCAL REGULATORY CHALLENGES*** OUR TEAM LEVERAGES OUR MUNICIPAL CONTACTS AND ASSETS AND HELPS INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES NAVIGATE THROUGH ANY REGULATORY ISSUES! WE SPEAK THE DUAL LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS & GOVERNMENT THAT HELP YOU TRANSLATE YOUR VISION INTO REALITY! ARTICLES OF POLITICAL INTEREST: Big Bucks Fuel Battle for Michigan House. See Top Donors to Dems, GOP Pump Prices Could Drop in Michigan After EPA Lifts Summer Gasoline Mandate Thousands of Michigan Voters May Not Vote in Michigan’s Primary Today. Here’s Why. Musk Backed PAC Under Investigation in Michigan Michigan Primary 2024: Voter Guide, Everything to Know
Marijuana News, Updates, & Articles of Interest
DCD continues to exist as the premier resource helping municipalities navigate the waters of cannabis policy. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding medical or recreational cannabis policy, procedure, and more. DCD is available for presentations to municipal boards, for one-on-one meetings, and for consultations. We are here to help you with: municipal lobbying, license application writing and assistance, business plans, state required operations manuals and compliance, facility design, corporate structure, and design and branding. We are experts in both medical and recreational cannabis policy and have been in the space for over ten years. We welcome any opportunity to work with you in the future! ARTICLES OF CANNABIS INTEREST: Michigan Cannabis Operator Charged with Importing Illegal THCA State Strikes at Marijuana Processor in First Big Crackdown on Out-of-State Hemp Travelling with Cannabis Purchased in Michigan? What to Know Before You Go! FDA Deprives Michigan Veterans of Research on Medical Cannabis Michigan Based Dispensary Opens First Connecticut Dispensary in Canton Doing Things Differently DCD is rebranding, and our bottom line is your bottom line. We are striving to create and foster strong relationships with clients and lawmakers, deliver results with strong ethics and class, but above all else, out-hustle and out-smart our competition every day to be the very best. We’re making chess moves while others are playing checkers. Everything we do is with you in mind, we’re doing things we’ve never done before and aggressively pursuing opportunities. The time is now. DCD has taken our firm to the next level and your involvement and investment paired with our knowledge and expertise is going to launch the great state of Michigan forward. |
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