Michigan Minimum Wage Increase Initiative (2018)
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 13 min
| Michigan Minimum Wage Increase Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Minimum wage | |
| Status Approved by the legislature | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Michigan Minimum Wage Increase Initiative was an indirect initiated state statute in Michigan that the state legislature voted to approve on September 5, 2018. If the legislature failed to act on the indirect initiative, the measure would have appeared on the ballot on November 6, 2018.
The ballot initiative was designed to increase the state's minimum wage between 60 and 75 cents each year until reaching $12.00 in 2022; thereafter, the initiative was designed to tack the minimum wage to inflation.[1]
On December 4, 2018, the state legislature amended the indirect initiative to increase the minimum wage to $12.05 by 2030. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed the bill on December 4, 2018.[2]
On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that legislators adopting a citizen-initiated statute, and then amending the initiative during the same legislative session, violated the Michigan Constitution. The decision was along partisan lines, with the court's four Democrats ruling against adopt-and-amend. The court's three Republicans dissented.[3]
Initiative design[edit]
The measure increased the state minimum wage from $9.25 in 2018 to $10.00 in 2019; $10.65 in 2020; $11.35 in 2021; and $12.00 in 2022. Starting in 2023, the minimum wage was adjusted for increases in the consumer price index each year unless the unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher for the previous year.[1]
The initiative increased the minimum wage for tipped employees from 38 percent of the minimum wage to 48 percent in 2019; 60 percent in 2020; 70 percent in 2021; 80 percent in 2022; 90 percent in 2023; and 100 percent in 2024 and thereafter.[1]
The measure required overtime compensation of 150 percent for employee work in excess of 40 hours during a workweek. The initiative used different ratios for state law enforcement and fire protection employees (216 hours during a 28-day period or the same 216:28 ratio for a shorter work period) and state hospital and medical institution employees (80 hours during a 14-day period or 8 hours in a workday). Instead of receiving monetary overtime compensation, employees were allowed to receive compensatory time off.[1]
The initiative established a minimum wage of 85 percent of the state minimum wage for employees under the age of 18 ($8.50 in 2019; $9.05 in 2020; $9.56 in 2021; and $10.20 in 2022). Employers were prohibited from terminating or reducing the hours, wages, or benefits of an employee to hire a new employee who is under the age of 18 and who receives the reduced minimum wage.[1]
Vote in the state legislature[edit]
The Michigan State Legislature received the ballot initiative from the secretary of state's office on August 27, 2018. Both chambers of the state legislature passed the initiative on September 5, 2018. In Michigan, the governor's signature is not required to adopt a citizen-initiated measure.[4]
Most legislative Republicans supported adopting the initiative. Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-30) said Republicans would seek to amend the initiative at a future date. He said, “We’ll consider different options and a whole suite of things we think are more friendly to Michigan, to make sure that workers are indeed cared for, and that still provide for economic development moving forward.” Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-27) said Republicans' adopt-and-amend approach was better called "approve and remove, or even more cynically on my part, undo and screw." He added, "There’s no question they plan on making dramatic changes, if not repealing it altogether. We have no idea what that’s going to be."[5]
In the state House, just under half of Democrats voted to adopt the initiative. House Democratic Leader Sam Singh described his caucus' reasoning, saying, "What we’ll do between now and the election is make sure that they commit to not gutting this in lame duck. If they can’t commit to it, then it’s very clear for the voters that the only people who will protect the things that we got today are Democrats."[5]
In the state Senate, the vote was 24 to 13. At least 19 affirmative votes were needed to pass the measure. All 10 Senate Democrats, along with three Republicans, voted against adopting the initiative. The remaining 24 Republicans voted to pass the initiative.[4]
The state House voted 78 to 28 to adopt the initiative. At least 44 affirmative votes were needed. Supporters of adopting the initiative included 57 Republicans (90.5 percent) and 21 Democrats (45.7 percent).[4]
One Fair Wage, the committee that supported the initiative, said legal action would be taken if Republicans later amend the initiative to weaken its provisions.[6]
If the initiative went to the ballot and voters approved it, a three-fourths vote of the legislature would have been required to amend it. As it was passed in the legislature, however, a simple majority vote is needed to amend the initiative at a future date.
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Amendment in the state legislature[edit]
On November 8, 2018, Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R-29) introduced Senate Bill 1171 (SB 1171), which was designed to amend the indirect initiative. The final version of the bill proposed increasing the minimum wage to $12.05 by 2030 and reinstating a tip credit wage equal to 38 percent of the minimum wage.[2]
The Michigan House of Representatives passed the bill in a 60-48 vote on December 4, 2018. The Michigan State Senate passed the bill in a 26-12 vote on December 4, 2018. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed the bill on December 13, 2018.[2] Gov. Snyder said, "The two bills I signed today strike a good balance between the initial proposals and the original legislation as drafted. They address a number of difficulties for job providers while still ensuring paid medical leave benefits and increased minimum-wage incomes for many Michiganders."[7]
Rep. Laura Cox (R-19), who voted to pass the bill, said small businesses "will be forced out of business under the [indirect initiative] as written. That means people will land in the unemployment line."[8] House Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D) said Republicans "had these bills in the works all summer long, and they didn’t have the courage to show the voters what they were planning on doing. There’s no need to rush unless you have a plan in place that is not necessarily in the best interest of the citizens of Michigan."[9]
Litigation on approving and amending indirect initiatives in Michigan[edit]
On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that legislators adopting a citizen-initiated statute, and then amending the initiative during the same legislative session, violated the Michigan Constitution. The decision was along partisan lines, with the court's four Democrats ruling against adopt-and-amend. The court's three Republicans dissented.[10]
Justice Elizabeth Welch (D) wrote the court's opinion, which said, "[W]e hold that Article 2, § 9 provides the Legislature with three—and only three—options upon receiving a valid initiative petition. Any legislative response to a valid initiative petition that falls outside those three discrete options is unconstitutional and impermissibly infringes upon the people’s reserved power." The three options are: (1) enact the law “without change or amendment” within 40 days; (2) “reject the proposed law, in which case the proposed law will appear on the ballot;” or (3) propose a competing measure to appear on the ballot alongside the initiative.
Justice Elizabeth Clement (R), in her dissent, wrote, "There is certainly reason to be frustrated by the Legislature’s actions here... But nothing in Article 2, § 9 restricts the Legislature from doing so. And as tempting as it might be to step into the breach, this Court lacks the power to create restrictions out of whole cloth."
In 2018, two indirect initiated state statutes — one to increase the minimum wage, and the other to require paid sick leave — received enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Michigan. These proposed ballot measures were indirect initiated state statutes. In Michigan, citizen-initiated statutes that receive enough valid signatures are sent to the Legislature, which then has 40 days to pass the initiative into law. Otherwise, the initiative appears on the next general election ballot.
On September 5, 2018, the House and Senate voted to pass the indirect initiatives, enacting them into law. On December 4, 2018, the Legislature voted to amend the enacted initiatives, and Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed the bills on December 13.
Michigan One Fair Wage and Michigan Time to Care — the campaigns behind the two initiatives — sued the state of Michigan. Plaintiffs described the legislative amendments as an adopt-and-amend tactic that violated Section 9 of Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution. Defendants argued that nothing prohibited the Legislature from amending enacted indirect initiatives.[11]
On July 19, 2022, Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro ruled against the state, holding that the legislature's amendments to the enacted initiatives were unconstitutional. Judge Shapiro wrote, "Both the letter and spirit of Article 2, § 9 support the conclusion that the Legislature has only three options to address voter-initiated legislation within the same legislative session—adopt it, reject it, or propose an alternative. Once the Legislature adopted the Earned Sick Time Act and the Improved Workforce Opportunity Act, it could not amend the laws within the same legislative session. To hold otherwise would effectively thwart the power of the People to initiate laws and then vote on those same laws—a power expressly reserved to the people in the Michigan Constitution."[11] Judge Shapiro stayed the court's order until February 19, 2023.[12]
On January 26, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's ruling, upholding the legislative action as constitutional. Judge Christopher Murray said, "The constitutional convention record squarely supports the conclusion that there was no intention to place a temporal limit on when the Legislature could amend initiated laws enacted by the Legislature."[13][14] Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), as well as the campaigns behind two affected initiatives, appealed the ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case on June 21, 2023.[15][16][17] On December 7, 2023, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the adopt-and-amend legislative action.[18]
On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that adopt-and-amend was unconstitutional. As the legislature's actions were ruled unconstitutional, the court ordered that the ballot initiatives go into effect on Feb. 21, 2025, with amended timelines for implementation.
Text of measure[edit]
Petition title[edit]
The petition language used for circulation was as follows:[1]
| “ | A petition to initiate legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour on January 1, 2019; to $10.65 per hour on January 1, 2020; to $11.35 per hour on January 1, 2021 and $12 per hour on January 1, 2022; to annually adjust the minimum wage based on the change in the cost of living; to require that gratuities are to be retained by the employee who receives them except as voluntarily shared; and to gradually increase the minimum wage in steps for employees who receive tips or gratuities until it is the same as the minimum wage for other employees. The proposal if adopted would supersede 2014 Public Act 138. If not enacted by the Michigan State Legislature in accordance with the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the proposal is to be voted on at the November 6, 2018 general election.[19] | ” |
Full text[edit]
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support[edit]
One Fair Wage Michigan led the campaign in support of the ballot initiative.[20]
Supporters[edit]
Arguments[edit]
- Alicia Renee Farris, chairperson of One Fair Wage Michigan, said, "This campaign is about creating a pathway to economic freedom for everyone and doing away with the separate wage tiers we have in this state."[23]
Opposition[edit]
Opponents[edit]
- Michigan Restaurant Association[20]
Arguments[edit]
- Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant Association, said the initiative was "irresponsible and dangerously out of touch. ... It is even more reckless to force Michigan into the distinct minority of states that have eliminated the tipped minimum wage, which will irrefutably harm Michigan's second-largest private employer and only serve to diminish opportunities for those that need them most."[24]
Campaign finance[edit]
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $1,211,922.78 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
There was one ballot measure committee, Michigan One Fair Wage, registered in support of the measure. The committee raised $1.21 million and expended $1.07 million.[25]
The Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) and affiliated entitites—ROC Action, ROC United, and ROC Michigan—provided the largest contribution of $790,276 to Michigan One Fair Wage.[25]
There were no committees registeted to oppose the ballot initiative.[25]
Support[edit]
The following were contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the initiative.[26]
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Donors[edit]
The following were the top five donors who contributed to the support committee:[26]
| Donor | Cash | In-kind | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) Action | $440,000.00 | $17,500.00 | $457,500.00 |
| Raise Michigan | $289,350.00 | $57,648.54 | $346,998.54 |
| Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United | $200,000.00 | $0.00 | $200,000.00 |
| Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) | $125,000.00 | $0.00 | $125,000.00 |
| Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan | $75,000.00 | $0.00 | $75,000.00 |
Background[edit]
2018 state minimum wages[edit]
Below is a map with higher minimum wages in a darker shade of blue. States that are shaded white either have a minimum wage equal to the federal minimum wage—$7.25 an hour—or have a lower state-set minimum wage over which the federal minimum wage takes precedence.
2014 initiative and legislation[edit]
In 2014, the campaign Raise Michigan collected 320,000 signatures for an initiative that would have increased the state minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over three years and indexed the wage to inflation.[27] The measure would have also increased the minimum wage for tip workers by 85¢ per year until reaching $10.10 an hour.[28]
The initiative was designed to amend the Minimum Wage Law of 1964. However, the Michigan State Legislature passed a bill, Senate Bill 934 (SB 934), that repealed and superseded the law on May 28, 2014. As the Minimum Wage Law of 1964 no longer existed, the initiative had no statute to amend and would have been rendered moot.[29] SB 934 preempted the initiative from taking effect, while also increasing the minimum wage over four years to $9.25 in 2018. The bill also increased the minimum wage for tipped workers from $2.65 an hour to 38 percent of the minimum wage.
Former Sen. Randy Richardville (R-17) was the lead sponsor of SB 934. He said, "The people that started this ballot proposal got the attention of a lot of people out there. And while they may have been well-intentioned, I think they went too far. It wasn't something we could amend or change, so instead, we replaced it."[30]
Raise Michigan's initiative failed to make the ballot after the Board of State Canvassers rejected the signatures due to the number of duplicate signatures in a sample. The Board of State Canvassers rejected the initiative on July 24, 2014, almost two months after the state legislature passed SB 934.[31]
Path to the ballot[edit]
Process in Michigan[edit]
In Michigan, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirect initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures older than 180 days are invalid, which means all signatures must be collected within a 180-day window. Petitions for initiated statutes must be filed 160 days prior to the election. Successful initiative petitions are sent to the legislature, which then has 40 days to pass the proposed law. If the legislature does not approve the initiative, it goes on the ballot. If the legislature approves the initiative, it becomes law without needing the signature of the governor.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2018 ballot:
- Signatures: 252,523 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was May 30, 2018.
Signature petitions are filed with the secretary of state and verified by the board of state canvassers using a random sample method of verification.
Minimum Wage Increase Initiative[edit]
Proponents filed the ballot initiative with the secretary of state's office on September 6, 2017. The state Board of State Canvassers approved the petition for signature gathering on September 19, 2017
On May 21, 2018, sponsors filed an estimated 370,690 signatures for the ballot initiative. At least 252,523 of the signatures (68.1 percent) needed to be valid.[32] The Michigan Department of State conducted a random sample of signatures, finding 76.2 percent valid. On July 27, 2018, the State Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 on whether to validate signatures. The board's two Democrats voted to approve the signatures, whereas the two Republicans voted against certifying the signatures.
On August 22, 2018, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered the four-member State Board of Canvassers to verify signatures for a ballot initiative to increase the minimum wage to $12.00. Typically, an initiated statute goes to the state legislature for 40 days before going on the ballot, but the court has ordered the board and secretary of state to take all necessary measures to get the measure on the ballot for November 6, 2018.[33]
The 2-1 appeals court decision could be appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. The Michigan Restaurant Association brought the case before the court, stating that petitions for the initiative did not include the full text of the law that would be amended and that this was a violation of law.[33]
On August 24, 2018, the Michigan Board of Canvassers voted three-to-zero (one member was absent) to validate signatures for the initiative.
See also[edit]
- 2018 ballot measures
- Michigan 2018 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Michigan
- Minimum wage on the ballot
- Minimum wage by state in the United States
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Michigan Secretary of State, "Michigan One Fair Wage Initiative," accessed September 20, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Michigan State Legislature, "Senate Bill 1171," accessed December 5, 2018
- ↑ Michigan Supreme Court, "Mothering Justice et al. v. Michigan, July 31, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Michigan State Legislature, "Initiatives," accessed September 7, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's OK of minimum wage hike, paid sick leave has a big catch," September 7, 2018
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Minimum wage group vows to sue if GOP 'weakens' proposal," September 4, 2018
- ↑ Bridge MI, "Snyder signs bills that weaken Michigan minimum wage, sick leave laws," December 14, 2018
- ↑ Bridge MI, "Michigan minimum wage, sick leave bills dismantled. Will Gov. Snyder sign?" December 4, 2018
- ↑ The State News, "Senate passes amendments to minimum wage, paid sick time initiatives," November 29, 2018
- ↑ Michigan Supreme Court, "Mothering Justice et al. v. Michigan, July 31, 2024
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Michigan Court of Claims, "Mothering Justice et al. v. Nessel," July 19, 2022
- ↑ JDSUPRA, "Michigan Court Reinstates Minimum Wage and Sick Leave Initiative Unconstitutionally Amended by State Legislature," August 2, 2022
- ↑ Michigan Court of Appeals, Mothering Justice et al. v. Nessel, January 26, 2023
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Michigan minimum wage increase, paid sick leave wiped out after appeals panel ruling," January 26, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Attorney General, "AG Nessel asks Michigan Supreme Court to Weigh in on Adopt and Amend," March 10, 2023
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Group appeals minimum wage, sick time ruling to Michigan Supreme Court," February 10, 2023
- ↑ The Center Square, "Michigan Supreme Court will hear minimum wage appeal," June 21, 2023
- ↑ NPR, "Michigan Supreme Court to hear arguments on 'adopt-and-amend'," December 7, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Detroit Free Press, "Michigan OKs $12 minimum wage proposal aimed at 2018 ballot," September 19, 2017
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Crain's Detroit Business, "Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda in Michigan to lend support to One Fair Wage initiative," September 11, 2017
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 The Detroit News, "Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin advocate for higher Mich. wages," September 14, 2017
- ↑ MLive, "$12 minimum wage petition gets preliminary approval from state board," September 19, 2017
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Group launches Michigan ballot drive for $12 minimum wage," September 7, 2017
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Michigan Secretary of State, "2018 Ballot Proposals," accessed November 20, 2017
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsupportfin - ↑ Crain's Detroit Business, "Raise Michigan submits signatures for minimum wage ballot question," May 28, 2014
- ↑ MLive, "Michigan minimum wage group increases proposal to $10.10 per hour," February 17, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Radio, "Latest GOP minimum wage salvo could spark restaurant war," May 9, 2014
- ↑ MLive, "Michigan minimum wage would rise to $9.20 by 2017 under compromise bill passed by Senate," May 15, 2014
- ↑ MLive, "$10.10 minimum wage proposal falls 3,900 signatures short, rejected by Michigan board," July 24, 2017
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Group submits 373k signatures for $12 Michigan minimum wage ballot initiative," May 21, 2018
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 The Detroit News, "Appeals Court orders minimum wage proposal on Michigan ballot," August 22, 2018
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