GRAYLING -- A Northern Michigan daycare center says upcoming changes to the state’s minimum wage and paid sick time rules could have a significant impact on their business.
Those changes are expected to happen next year after a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling.
The state’s minimum wage is expected to increase to $12.50 an hour, starting next February, reaching $15.40 by 2030 and leaving employers responsible for paid sick time.
That is, unless state lawmakers step in. Those impending changes are leaving daycare centers concerned about their future.
The director of the Crawford AuSable Daycare and Preschool in Grayling, Salena Laskowski said they have been closely following the new rules and are worried about their bottom line.
“Currently, that’s not something that we offer any of our employees. and it’s going to hit us really hard financially when that goes into effect,” said Laskowski.
She said 90 % of her employees make below $15 but they were trying to be competitive in order to attract and keep workers
“Our starting wage here was $12.75, and it doesn’t seem like a lot. And we know it’s not a lot, but compared to being $10.33 somewhere else, we were very proud that we were above that threshold,” said Laskowski.
Coupled with having to fork out money for sick leave, that’s a huge expense they can’t afford.
“If each one can take almost two weeks’ worth of sick pay, that’s five months’ worth of sick pay throughout the year when everybody’s entitled to that,” said Laskowski.
She said the non-profit has already been struggling this year with lower enrollment, and with inflation. The school is trying to keep their heads above water.
“We’re paying an extra $12 a case of toilet paper than we were paying a year ago. It’s all those little things that add up. And we’ve made every cut we can make to our budget,” said Laskowski.
Laskowski says she’s fearful she might have to raise rates, that some parents can’t afford, and that it might lead to job losses. She hopes state lawmakers will take another look at the rules.