(CN) — The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that Republican lawmakers violated the state constitution in 2018 when they controversially used an “adopt-and-amend” maneuver to curb a minimum wage hike and new standards for paid sick leave.
Wednesday’s decision will bump Michigan’s current minimum wage of $10.33-an-hour up by about $2. It will also increase the number of workplaces required to provide employees with paid time off.
Justices in the 4-3 ruling bashed the state Legislature’s handling of the workers’ rights proposals, which racked up more than 280,000 signatures in a 2018 petition drive — enough for them to be put on the ballot for voters to decide or simply adopted by the legislature.
Instead, GOP lawmakers approved the proposals, then gutted them after that year’s election, delaying and decreasing the minimum wage hikes and preventing paid sick leave from applying to small businesses as proposed.
“By adopting the Wage Act and the Earned Sick Time Act and then later stripping those acts of their key features in the same legislative session, the legislature unconstitutionally violated the people’s initiative rights," Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote in the majority opinion. “Accordingly, we hold that the Amended Wage Act and the Amended Earned Sick Time Act are unconstitutional.”
Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed the watered-down version of the legislation before his Democratic successor Gretchen Whitmer took office in 2019, prompting a more than five-year legal battle that culminated with Wednesday’s decision.
Welch ultimately concluded that the GOP’s actions unconstitutionally bypass voters and “thwarts the voters’ ability to participate in the lawmaking process.”
It’s a big victory for low-wage workers statewide, who will now benefit from higher wages — both for tipped and untipped workers — as well as higher standards for paid leave.
According to the justices in Wednesday’s decision, the wage bump must take effect by February 2025. It will then continue to increase with inflation in subsequent years. Minimum wage for tipped workers, which currently sits at less than $4-an-hour, will increase at a quicker rate, eventually phasing out the lower minimum pay for workers who earn tips.
Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat who backs the original petitions, celebrated Wednesday's ruling as a win for voters’ rights.
“This is a landmark victory for Michigan voters and a resounding affirmation of the power of direct democracy,” Nessel said in a statement. “The legislature cannot manipulate its power to undermine the will of the people. This ruling sends a clear message that elected officials cannot disregard the voices of their constituents. I am glad to see the court recognize and respect that the people reserved for themselves the power of initiative, a crucial tool meant to shape the laws that govern them.”
Nessel was named as a defendant in the lawsuit since her Republican predecessor Bill Schuette rendered an opinion that upheld the legality of the “adopt-and-amend” tactic.
The decision split along party lines, with the three other Democrat-nominated justices, Richard Bernstein, Kyra Bolden and Megan Cavanaugh, concurring with Welch’s majority opinion.
All three Republican-nominated justices, Elizabeth Clement, David Viviano and Brian Zahara, dissented.
Clement acknowledged that “there is certainly reason to be frustrated by the legislature’s actions here,” but disagreed that they explicitly violated the constitution.
Zahara similarly criticized the majority for adopting as law “language that was neither approved by the legislature nor voted on by the people.”
“In fact, by rewriting entire swaths of the relevant statutory language, the court enacts statewide policy that was not even included in the first initiative proposed by a small minority of Michigan residents,” Zahara wrote. “The court is not vindicating the people’s ‘rights to direct democracy,’ nor is it respecting the proper role of ‘the legislature’s lawmaking power,’ as it claims. It is replacing those powers with its own.”
Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt panned the Wednesday ruling as one that could cause “catastrophic damage” to bar and restaurant workers around the state. He suggested that the more favorable working conditions would raise the statewide cost of goods and make tipped employment more volatile.
“This misguided ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court will make everything more expensive for struggling Michigan families, while also having a devastating effect on the jobs of tipped workers,” Nesbitt said in a statement.
Nesbitt’s Republicans are the minority in Michigan’s Senate. He urged Democratic lawmakers to join him in support of reverting the policies.
Follow @Uebey
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
