LANSING — Tipped wages and employee sick time continued to loom over the Michigan Legislature on its second day back, with lawmakers taking steps to advance legislation in the coming weeks.
Policymakers voted Thursday to establish a select committee on the issues. The committee will consist of 6 Democrats and 9 republicans, including Gaylord Rep. Ken Borton.
“What the select committee will do is we’ll sit down, we’ll try to figure out where we can compromise, where we can work together on it, and come out with the best legislation in the long run,” Borton, (R) 105th District, said.
Under the changes set to go into effect Feb. 21, the state will begin a phase-out of the tipped wage and multi-year increase of the minimum wage.
All employees would accrue at least one hour of sick time per 30 hours worked, but usage of that time varies by the size of the business.
Workers at businesses with less than 10 employees would be allowed to take 40 hours of paid sick time in a year, along with 32 hours unpaid once those 40 hours are met.
Those at workplaces with 10 or more employees are entitled to 72 hours of paid sick time, with no requirement for unpaid sick time. Sick time carries over from year to year for all workers.
Businesses can choose to give employees more sick time and increase the amount of paid sick time available, but those numbers are the minimums that employers must provide.
Employers can also provide PTO and sick time under one unified ‘paid leave’ policy, as long as they provide at least one hour for every 30 worked.
The sick time policy also allows employers to require documentation only when earned sick time is used for more than three consecutive days.
“People could not show up for three days of work, not even present a doctor’s note, no call, no show. And it’s hard to run a business that way,” said Rep. Bill G. Schuette, (R) 95th District.
Republicans say they’re open to working on the issues with the Democratic-controlled Senate, which would be required to approve any proposals put forward in the House.
“We’re not going to let up until we get this solved,” said Schuette, chair of the select committee. “We’re not going to take our foot off the gas on making sure that we stand up for restaurant workers and our family owned small businesses.”