MAJOR VICTORY: Michigan Supreme Court Reinstates Earned Sick Time and Minimum Wage Ballot Initiatives!

https://www.abetterbalance.org/major-victory-michigan-supreme-court-reinstates-earned-sick-time-and-ballot-initiatives/

We are thrilled by the Michigan Supreme Court's ruling to reinstate the state's Earned Sick Time and Earned Minimum Wage ballot initiatives.

Posted: July 31, 2024

Workers across the State of Michigan secured a major victory today! The Michigan Supreme Court ruled this morning that the Michigan Legislature violated the Michigan Constitution when they adopted the Earned Sick Time and Earned Minimum Wage ballot initiatives that qualified for the ballot in 2018, only to turn right around and drastically amend and gut the laws. The Court ruled today that the Legislature exceeded its authority and that both laws as originally drafted in the proposed ballot initiative will take effect on February 21, 2025—significantly expanding paid sick leave rights for millions of Michiganders. A Better Balance is proud to have helped to write the original initiative, provided years of technical and policy assistance, and drafted and submitted an amicus brief to the Michigan Supreme Court supporting the paid sick leave rights of Michigan’s population.

In the fall of 2017, A Better Balance worked with Mothering Justice and a coalition of Michigan organizations to help draft a ballot initiative that would entitle workers in the State to paid sick time. Under Michigan law, once an initiative petition receives enough signatures (as this proposed ballot did), the Legislature can either adopt the proposals as written or send the initiative to the ballot. Once the paid sick leave petition gathered the sufficient number of signatures, however, legislators announced they would adopt the proposed initiative—along with a qualified initiative to raise Michigan’s minimum wage—with the intent to gut the laws during the subsequent lame duck session. Because the Michigan Legislature followed through with this “adopt and amend” scheme, voters in Michigan were blocked from weighing in on the comprehensive paid sick time proposal. The amended law stripped more than 1.8 million workers, or nearly 40% of the Michigan workforce, of coverage entirely. For those still included in the law, the amendments substantially undermined the employee protections contained in the original ballot initiative. Similarly, the current minimum wage law is much lower than under the original initiative.

Due to this unacceptable weakening of the law, Mothering Justice brought a lawsuit to have the ballot initiatives reinstated. After the Court of Appeals overturned a lower court win, the decision was then appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, with arguments taking place in December 2023. The Supreme Court found today that the Michigan Constitution, by reserving the power to pass an initiative to the people of Michigan, limits the power of the Legislature in important ways with respect to initiatives. Finding that the amended, gutted laws were unconstitutional, the Court then ruled that the original text of the initiatives should be reinstated as law. However, because the increases in minimum wage in the original initiative were tied annually to inflation, the Court instructed the new minimum wage to be adjusted to inflation in 2025 and moving forward.

Beginning February 21, 2025, more than a million Michigan workers will now be included under the paid sick time law, as the original initiative had no exclusions based on employer size (currently, only workers at businesses with 50 or more employees are covered), or whether workers are part-time or in temporary positions. The original inclusive family definition will also be reinstated, meaning that workers can take leave to care for a wide array of family members, plus any close loved ones of the employee (even though they may not be legally or biologically related). Beginning in February, millions of Michigan workers will also be entitled to earn additional sick time, beyond current limits on the amount of time that can be earned in a year. The new earned sick time law will also have much stronger enforcement mechanisms, protecting workers who face violations.

A Better Balance is proud to have supported the drafting of the original paid sick time initiative and to have provided years of legal and policy assistance to the coalition. We are grateful for our long-time partnership with Mothering Justice, who have fought tirelessly for more than a decade to bring paid sick time to all Michiganders.