State Rep. Greg Alexander, of Carsonville, today supported a plan that provides commonsense paid sick leave policies that work for Michigan’s job providers and their hardworking employees.

The second-term legislator said the reforms work to adjust a Michigan Supreme Court ruling from last summer that put unrealistic wage and sick leave mandates on small businesses and threatened livelihoods across the state. The ruling was set to be effective beginning Friday at 12:01 a.m.

“For months, people have called on their elected leaders to address this issue. Workers feared for their jobs and small business owners were worried they were going to have to close for good if the Court’s decision became effective,” Alexander said. “This should have been fixed last year, but it wasn’t a priority for Democrats in control of the House. This compromise is not perfect, but it establishes a better way forward for workers and job providers across our area.

“Since Day One of the current legislative term, House Republicans have prioritized this issue. We got right to work introducing bills and holding hearings. This urgency helped get a final product to the governor and stave off what would have been an economic disaster.”

HB 4002 guarantees all workers have access to sick time, while simplifying the complex and overly strict rules that were set to go into effect, had this legislation not been passed. The new plan allows employers of all sizes to choose the sick time plan that works best for their businesses and to customize policies regarding “no call, no show” incidents, while safeguarding their livelihoods from baseless lawsuits.

A plan to protect tipped workers, Senate Bill 8, which Alexander voted to advance on Wednesday, maintains the tip credit at 38% through 2025 while implementing annual increases, eventually reaching 50% of the minimum wage in 2031.

A recent survey of Michigan restaurant servers found that more than 80% want to keep the tipping system in place. Another survey of Michigan restaurant operators found that if the tipped wage were eliminated, more than 92% of restaurants would have to raise their menu prices, 66% would have to lay off some workers, and 20% would be forced to shut down.

After passage in both the House and Senate, HB 4002 and SB 8 will become law with the governor’s signature.