By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Ortonville— From 8-9 a.m, Sept. 30, the Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South St., Ortonville will host Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. Block will discuss the wages, tips and paid leave decision from the Michigan Supreme Court, and the ramifications for businesses.
The event is free for both the Holly and Ortonville Area Chamber Commerce members and $5 for non-members. Registration is required. Continental breakfast provided.
On July 31, 2024, by a 4-3 vote, the Michigan Supreme Court impacted the state’s law over minimum wage and sick time impacting businesses, including the restaurant industry.
Next year, all workers will receive a pay hike to $12.48 an hour with tipped workers increased to $7.49. The current minimum wage is $10.33 and $3.93 for tipped workers.
All employees, including part-time and temporary workers, are now entitled to paid sick leave. Every 30 hours an employee works generates one hour of paid sick leave. Employees will get 72 hours paid sick time a year at large companies, while smaller businesses with fewer than 10 employees need to pay for 40 hours of sick leave a year. These changes will be effective Feb. 21, 2025.
“Our first goal is to help employers understand the Supreme Court decision and the compliance obligations ahead,” said Block, during an interview with The Citizen. “Also, we are aggressively advocating for additional changes by legislators. They (legislators) can work to soften the impact of this decision, they must take action prior to February so that both acts are workable for businesses. And don’t end up hurting the very workers they intend to help.”
There’s a lot of fine print details, she added.
“We would encourage businesses of all sizes to attend the meeting,” she said. “There’s a need to get educated on the issue and a need to make your voice heard by your local lawmaker. On the surface it sounds great to everyone, but when they dig into the details it just does not make sense.”