Musicians Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart and Geddy Lee of the band Rush perform at the Nokia Theatre on May 6, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. One of the band’s best-known hits is “Working Man.” (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
After President Donald Trump pulled off another win last year, dejected Democrats settled on how they can stage a comeback: They’re gonna be the party of the working man again.
This may sound familiar, because it’s basically the same thing they said the first time he won in 2016.
But in Michigan, the Democratic-controlled House couldn’t get its act together during the lame duck session following the election, so alas, they lost the chance to pass a slew of economic justice laws before Republicans took charge of the chamber in the new year.
Minimum wage and sick leave bills clear Michigan House with bipartisan support after heated debate
This session, Republicans have made it their top priority to scale back minimum wage and sick leave laws that the Michigan Supreme Court ordered to go into effect in February.
Next month, the minimum wage is set to jump from $10.56 to $12.48 per hour and will hit $14.97 by 2028. And employers with fewer than 10 employees would be required to offer up to 40 hours of paid sick leave and 32 hours of unpaid leave, while businesses with 10 or more employees must offer a full 72 hours of paid sick leave.
Now the minimum wage is set to increase in almost half of states this year. But the situation in the Mitten State is pretty unique.
The fight here has dragged on for over six years, with a past GOP-led Legislature adopting two citizen-initiated ballot measures upping the minimum wage and mandating paid sick leave before the 2018 election. Right afterward, they gutted those laws during a far more productive lame duck.
A series of court battles ensued. In 2024, the state’s highest court weighed in, ruling that the Legislature’s maneuver was illegal and the ballot proposals should go into effect. That prompted a complete meltdown from business groups, particularly the restaurant lobby, as the law would also ditch the subminimum wage for tipped employees by 2030.
So the first thing House Republicans did when they took charge of the chamber this month was create a brand spanking new select committee to take up bills curtailing the new laws.
Their legislation slows down the minimum wage hike, with Michigan’s rate hitting $15 per hour in 2029. The tipped wage would stay put at 38% of the state minimum wage and the rate for employees under 18 would be cut from 85% to 75% of the minimum wage.
Employers with 50 employees or fewer would be exempt from the new paid sick leave requirements. Language permitting employees to take civil action if their employer violates the law got the ax.
Both bills passed the House Thursday with bipartisan support — which seems like it flies in the face of Democrats’ resolve to woo the working class.
And while most Democratic House members did vote against the measures, it’s significant that even Democrats who run the Senate have introduced their own bills watering down the minimum wage and sick leave laws — just not as drastically.
Organized labor was decidedly unhappy, with Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber declaring, “Every legislator, regardless of their party, should be held accountable for their vote to cut the pay and benefits for workers most in need.”
But business interests have basically already declared victory, confident that significant changes will pass both chambers soon — and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will sign them to show she’s a moderate when she presumably runs for president in 2028.
I’ve been around Lansing for over 20 years. I’m not a betting woman, but those odds seem pretty good to me.
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