A prominent legal expert is warning Michigan lawmakers against rolling back a court-ordered minimum wage hike, calling it a direct assault on the state’s constitutional protections for voter-led initiatives.
University of Michigan law professor Samuel Bagenstos, a former U.S. Justice Department official, sent a letter to legislative leaders on Monday urging them to let the minimum wage and earned sick leave laws take effect as ordered by the Michigan Supreme Court last year. The court struck down a 2018 legislative maneuver that gutted citizen-initiated wage and sick leave increases before they could reach voters.
“The Michigan Supreme Court enforced a basic democratic principle — that the people have a reserved power to vote on an initiative that qualifies for the ballot if the Legislature will not let it go into effect,” Bagenstos wrote to Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Speaker Matt Hall. “For the Legislature to amend these initiatives now, before letting them take effect, would be to once again ‘sidestep the people’s reserved power.’”
The Supreme Court ruled in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General that the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2018 violated the state constitution by adopting the citizen-led minimum wage and paid sick leave initiatives before quickly gutting them during the lame-duck session. The court reinstated the original measures, which were set to take effect on Friday. But that has changed after lawmakers moved last week to weaken the wage hike once again.
On Thursday night, the Michigan Senate passed a bill that slows the increase in the minimum wage and preserves a lower tipped wage structure for restaurant workers. Introduced by Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, the legislation prevents the tipped wage from rising to the full minimum wage by 2030, as originally mandated by the court. Instead, it caps the tipped wage at 50% of the full wage, with gradual increases through 2031.
Brinks, a Grand Rapids Democrat, supported the legislation, citing concerns from restaurant workers who said they wanted to keep the tipped wage system in place. But most Senate Democrats opposed the measure, and labor activists have blasted the effort as a betrayal of workers.
“This is a blatant PAY CUT and betrayal of working people, and Michigan workers will remember exactly who stood with them and who sold them out and cut their wages,” Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, a group advocating to eliminate the tipped wages, said in a statement. “What does it even mean to be a Democrat if you vote to gut a minimum wage increase that was won in the courts and was just days away from taking effect? These senators have made their choice — now they will have to answer for it.”
The bill, which still requires House approval, would increase the overall minimum wage from $10.56 to $12.48 on Feb. 21, with gradual increases to $15 by 2027. The tipped wage would remain at 38% of the minimum wage this year and rise in small increments until reaching 50% by 2031.
Bagenstos warned that any legislative action before the wage law takes effect would reinforce the original constitutional violation struck down by the court.
“The Legislature’s actions in adopting the initiative petitions and then amending them in the same legislative session deprived the people of access to the process that is guaranteed to them,” the court wrote.
The effort to scale back the wage hike has exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party. Eight Senate Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the rollback, drawing sharp criticism from progressive groups. Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, was one of the Democrats who broke ranks, leading to an online backlash from activists, including Distill Social, a progressive nonprofit media group.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has urged lawmakers to negotiate a bipartisan deal before the court’s order takes effect. Her administration signaled openness to modifying the wage and sick leave laws, with press secretary Stacey LaRouche saying Friday that they are “glad progress is being made and are hopeful for even more.”
Meanwhile, One Fair Wage has vowed to launch a ballot initiative to fully restore the original wage plan if lawmakers weaken the court ruling.
The House is expected to vote on the wage bill this week.
