Bussiness
Business groups lay out proposed changes to Michigan’s paid sick time
Save MI Tips rally at Capitol in Lansing
Restaurant workers rally in support of tipped wages on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, at the Capitol in Lansing.
Ahead of pending changes to Michigan’s paid sick leave laws slated for next year, a group of the state’s major business advocacy organizations is calling on the Legislature to address the policy before they adjourn in December.
The group, which includes the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Detroit Regional Chamber, the Small Business Administration of Michigan and a slew of other statewide and regional advocacy organizations, wants lawmakers to restore exemptions for small businesses and make further changes under the state’s Earned Sick Time Act, which is currently slated to expand after a July ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court.
In July, the court ruled Michigan’s current paid sick time laws were installed unconstitutionally, stating the 2018 state Legislature lacked the authority to adopt language from a petition initiative that sought to expand paid sick time, and then amend the language to reduce the amount of paid sick leave workers could earn and exempt workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. The court also struck down the state’s current minimum wage scale, which was also instituted via the “adopt and amend” method that same year.
As things currently stand, starting Feb. 21, 2025, employees in Michigan will earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Businesses with 10 or more employees will have to allow workers to use up to 72 hours of paid sick leave if accrued. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will have to allow workers to use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave if accrued. The new rules won’t apply to workers employed by the federal government.
Among the changes business groups are calling for:
- Restore exemptions for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Create exemptions for part-time, seasonal, temporary workers, subcontractors and youth employees.
- Remove a provision in the law that allows employees to submit notices for using leave “as soon as practicable.” Business groups say in practice, this provision will allow employees to have up to 72 hours of “no call, no show” time each year. The groups want to require notices to happen prior to the start of a shift, so long as the employee isn’t incapacitated. Additionally, the business groups want the paid leave to be used in four-hour increments.
- Allow employers to frontload paid leave time at the start of each year, rather than needing employees to accrue it. Business groups also say employers should be able to keep paid time off in one category, rather than separate pools for paid sick leave and other leave categories, like vacation days.
- Remove language allowing employees to take legal action against employers for interfering with or retaliating against the use of earned sick time. The business groups want the state to handle such claims.
During an online briefing with media Thursday morning, leaders of business advocacy groups in Michigan said the new laws represent a drastic change for employers, and reduce flexibility for workers when it comes to earning paid time off. The changes they are calling for, they argue, represent a more feasible ask for employers and retain some of the expansions to earned leave time.
More: Michigan minimum wage slated to increase to $12.48 an hour next year after court ruling
“Ultimately, we feel like the asks that we have are very much focused on common sense things,” said Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. “They more closely match what employers are doing today as it relates to their paid sick leave policies and their vacation policies.”
Lindsay Case Palsrok, vice president of public policy for Business Leaders of Michigan, said the organizations don’t have any issue with granting 72 hours of paid leave, but are concerned about how the new law will work in practice.
“I think we’re here representing employers to say if 72 hours is the benefit to be granted by law, we’d like to be able to offer that, potentially (from) the first of the year and have it there, versus a more complicated and probably less employee-friendly process of accrual over time,” she said.
Since the July ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court, neither chamber of the Michigan Legislature has taken up bills to address any of the pending changes to the state’s minimum wage and paid sick time laws. While business groups have called on lawmakers to soften impending changes to both the minimum wage scale and paid sick leave policy before they go into effect on Feb. 21, 2025, labor unions and petition organizers have applauded the court’s ruling and urged lawmakers to let the changes be enacted as initially intended.
More: 4 issues Michigan House Democrats tackled in final votes before November election
A spokesperson for Sen. Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in an email Brinks is focused on “listening to and gathering information from impacted individuals and groups.”
When previously asked about taking up legislation to address pending changes to Michigan’s minimum wage laws, the office of House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, took a similar line. Amber McCann, a spokesperson for Tate, said Sept. 18, “(t)he Speaker has encouraged his caucus members to gather input from their constituents on what, if any, action should be (taken) in the wake of the Court’s ruling on ‘adopt and amend,’ but no decision has been made regarding potential legislative action.”
Joshua Lunger, vice president of governmental affairs for the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, said the organization has met with representatives from both leaders’ offices, as well as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, to discuss the new laws.
Wednesday marked the House’s final day of voting ahead of the Nov. 5 election. While lawmakers took up a series of bills related to home worker unionization, improving reading proficiency in public schools, tax incentives and more, legislation related to minimum wage or paid sick time hasn’t seen movement in the House or Senate so far.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com
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