By: Nick Powers | C&G Newspapers | Published February 19, 2025
METRO DETROIT — In a bipartisan effort, eight Democrats and 12 Republicans in the Michigan Senate passed a bill Feb. 13 to head off automatic changes to the state’s minimum wage.
Senate Bill 8 of 2025, sponsored by Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, retains the automatically scheduled increase to $12.48. Each subsequent increase would happen Jan. 1. Next year, it would be $13.73, and in 2027, it would rise to $15. After that, the treasurer would update the rate each year.
The bill would increase the wages of tipped workers. The first year tipped workers would receive 38% of the $12.48 minimum wage. The wage would rise in 2% to 3% increments each Jan. 1 until hitting 60% in 2035.
SB 8 passed with 20 in favor, 12 voting against and five members excused. The House of Representatives would still have to OK the plan before it would arrive on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk to sign it into law. Another bill addressing paid sick time, Senate Bill 15, sponsored by Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, had not yet been passed as of press time.
The majority of Democrats in the Senate did not vote for Senate Bill 8. The Senate currently has 37 members, composed of 19 Democrats and 18 Republicans. There is one seat, district 35, that is vacant. Whitmer will need to call a special election to fill the position after Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet was elected to a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senate Bill 8 attempts to strike a compromise between workers and businesses interests.
“When I sat down with workers and small business owners to discuss the importance of Michigan’s tipped wage system, our political differences didn’t matter — what mattered was finding a solution that allows small businesses to thrive and keep their doors open,” Hertel said in a press release following the bill’s passage. “Crafted with those perspectives in mind, this legislation protects and improves Michigan’s tipped wage, so workers earn a good living while small businesses have the stability they need to continue serving our communities. I’m grateful for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for doing what we were sent here to do: put politics aside, find room for compromise, and deliver a solution to help move Michigan forward.”
Republicans played a key role in getting the legislation over the finish line in the Senate.
“While this is by no means a perfect solution, I am relieved for the tens of thousands of hospitality workers across Michigan who feared for their jobs,” Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, said in a press release after voting for the bill. “Republicans were finally able to get Democrats to the table and compromise on this vital bipartisan solution ahead of next week’s looming deadline. We heard their voices, and we responded.”
State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, was one of the Republicans against SB 8.
“This bill was a bad compromise and a bad deal for Michigan workers and small businesses,” Runestad said in a press release. “I refuse to support legislation that will ultimately harm workers and countless small businesses because of government overreach.”
The February changes stem from a Michigan Supreme Court ruling last year. The court’s 4-3 decision deemed state Republicans’ strategy of adopting and then amending two 2018 petitions, instead of allowing them to appear on the ballot, unconstitutional. The court’s ruling attempted to put into place the original petitions’ intent.
Shortly after SB 8’s passage, Restaurant Opportunities Center Director Chris White spoke out against the bill. ROC was one of the plaintiffs in the court case that set the wage increases into motion.
“Last night’s vote directly undermines the implementation of a law as mandated by the state Supreme Court,” White said in a press release. “These actions have weakened our democratic process and will erode the public’s confidence in our right to petition for change that reflects the best interests of our state. This vote sends a message that in times of rising expenses, lawmakers are looking to cut wages, a decision that directly harms those who are economically vulnerable.”
In January, the Michigan House passed two bills of its own: House Bill 4001 and House Bill 4002. House Bill 4001 deals with wages, setting the minimum wage at $12 and leaving tipped workers’ wages at 38% of all other workers. House Bill 4002 deals with paid sick time, increasing the number of employees a business must employ before it’s required to pay out sick time.
HB 4001 was passed with a vote of 63-41 and HB 4002 was passed on the same day with a vote of 67-38. The majority of the votes for both bills were from Republicans. The House of Representatives has 110 seats with 58 occupied by Republicans and 52 filled by Democrats.
Both legislative efforts attempt to head off changes that would go into effect Feb. 21. If nothing happens, the minimum wage will rise to $12.48, with increases each year determined by the state’s treasurer. Tipped workers would make $12 an hour by 2029.
The changes in February also impact paid sick time in the state. Every 30 hours an employee works generates one hour of paid sick leave. Employees get 72 hours paid sick time per year at larger companies. However, employers with fewer than 10 employees need to only pay for 40 hours of sick leave a year.