By Elena Durnbaugh
Assistant Editor
Posted: August 30, 2024 10:51 AM

Business industry stakeholders continue to apply pressure on the Legislature for changes to the laws reinstated by last month's Supreme Court ruling, which would increase the minimum wage and require employers to provide paid sick leave, but those who support the changes say any amendments would undermine what Michigan voters wanted for a second time.

The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a webinar on Wednesday to answer questions from business owners about the laws and to encourage them to reach out to lawmakers and ask for changes.

The adopt and amend ruling held the Legislature cannot adopt and later amend voter-initiated laws in the same session. That led to the reinstatement of a law calling to increase Michigan's minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022 and bring tipped minimum wage up to the regular minimum wage. The other law puts new paid sick time requirements in place.

Both laws are set to go into effect in February.

Because the court ordered the state to take inflation into account when determining the new minimum wage, it is likely to be $15 an hour for both regular and tipped workers by 2030 unless changes are made.

"A lot has changed in Michigan's economy since 2018, and what made sense in 2018 probably doesn't make as much sense now," said Brad Williams, vice president of government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber.

Business chambers across the state are working together with business owners and restaurant workers to speak with lawmakers, who may not understand some of the ways the laws would affect businesses, Williams said.

But changes aren't what most people want, said Chris White, director of ROC Michigan, a workers' center that seeks to advance the interests of restaurant workers and the plaintiff in the adopt and amend case.

"400,000 Michiganders signed a petition," White said. "It's the rights of the people being upheld, and these same people that patronize businesses. That's what businesspeople have to understand in this case: this is the case of the customer is always right."

The changes brought about by these laws will lead to happier, better employees, which will in turn create more profit for businesses, White said.

"There's a human dynamic here, and we have to take a look at the human dynamic in relation to business," he said.

Danielle Atkinson, National Founding Director of Mothering Justice, said her organization has been working on paid sick days and paid family leave for about a decade.

"We're really excited about the decision," she said. "Not only is it important for the issues of paid leave and minimum wage, but also democracy. We need to have faith that if we are to start a ballot initiative process that it can happen. That's an act of the people, direct democracy, and it's extremely important."

White said ROC Michigan is encouraging lawmakers not to make changes to the laws.

"Even though this is not the Legislature that did this, this is how we got her in the first place," he said. "Our take, is 70 percent of people support this, so the constituents in their district support this, so for them to try to amend? We already went through this," he said. "Then it took six years … for this issue to be resolved. So, to go through all of that and then to have it re-amended would erode the democratic process … It erodes the public trust in the system."

Policy advocates on the business side say that as written, the laws aren't practical. On sick leave, they're asking for five key changes on behalf of business owners, including exempting paid time off plans that meet or exceed the mandated 72 hours; exempting small businesses and certain workers, including part-time and seasonal employees; requiring time off to be used in full- and half-day increments and allowing employers to require advanced notice; eliminating the private right of action and rebuttable presumption; and allowing employers to frontload 72-hours at the start of the year.

Williams said the chamber hopes to get the Legislature to agree to these changes before the end of October, otherwise, everything will become more complicated.

"More legislation gets thrown into the ring," he said, referring to the negotiations that often highlight a lame duck session. "And, as I said, organized labor is going to want to extract a pound of flesh for this, and we'd rather not. So, the sooner we can get this done, the fewer other issues are part of the equation."

The biggest challenge to getting changes to the laws will be organized labor, Williams said.

"When I had conversations with folks in organized labor about this, they viewed the changes made in this legislation as tantamount to changes won at the bargaining table," he said. "To have Democrats vote to change this legislation would be something that needs to be worked through with organized labor."

Josh Lunger, vice president of government affairs for the Grand Rapids Chamber, encouraged business owners to reach out to their representatives in the Legislature.

"The challenge is the politics and the lack of understanding, especially about the earned sick time and the impact it will have on small business," Lunger said. "It's the urgency that's going to get this done … we need the push so that we can get these things accomplished this year because we don't want the uncertainty to drag on."

Business owners aren't against the spirit of the legislation, Williams said, they're just concerned about implementation.

"We're not trying to overturn what the petitioners put before the Legislature. What we're trying to do is help them implement it in a way that can actually work as intended," Williams said.

Right now, many business owners are confused about what is allowed in terms of paid time off, advance notice and how their current system matches up with the new laws, and the answers aren't very clear, said Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber.

"This is why we're seeking legislative changes," Block said. "We don't want there to be a lot of gray areas, and we don't want to find out in court that LEO's interpretation wasn't right and that a judge doesn't agree."

The courts have already had their say, though, White said.

"We feel that the court has spoken, and it in its speaking, the business community has to partner with us and work toward the implementation of the changes in wages, the changes in paid leave and support the increasing of the minimum wage," he said. "We want them to respect the court's decision and to get on board and make this a healthy economy for all Michigander and all workers in the state."

Business interests are using fear tactics right now, White said.

"Customers are also employees, and they stand to benefit from the increase in wages, and they stand to benefit from the increase in paid sick leave," he said. "That creates an ethical, pragmatic way of doing business, and that's how we strengthen the economy."

Atkinson agreed.

"Most people in Michigan understand what it is like to wake up sick and not really be able to go to work. And most of those people understand what it is to have to make a decision about am I going to be able to take time off because I have bills to pay," she said. "Our opposition is really stuck in a very myopic mindset about what implementation will look like. They're using scare tactics to convince legislators to undermine the will of the people."

Other states already have similar laws, Atkinson said.

There are 15 states, along with Washington D.C., that have paid sick time laws, according to data from the Center for American Progress.

"The sky has not fallen, but people are grateful that they have financial protection against the loss of income when they're sick," Atkinson said. "We think it's about time that the business community get their people prepared and stop acting like this is impossible and get to the work of preparing everybody for the inevitable change in February."

Any changes to the implementation of these laws will be viewed as a cut to people's benefits and wages, Atkinson said.

"People are expecting the raise and the benefits," she said. "This issue is extremely popular because it's extremely needed."