Michigan's minimum wage set to increase to $9.45 in March 2019.

Michigan's minimum wage set to increase to $9.45 in March 2019.

February 12, 2019

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Royce A. Nunley

Michigan's minimum wage is going up as of March 29, 2019. The increase will put an additional 20 cents per hour in the pockets of workers who receive the minimum wage. For people earning minimum wage, any increase is good news, however, $9.45 an hour is still well short of a living wage.

Public Act 337 of 2018, also known as the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (IWOWA) would have raised Michigan's minimum wage to $10.00 an hour in 2019, and further increased the minimum wage to $12.00 by 2022. This Act started as a ballot initiative and appeared to have a great deal of support amongst the voters. However, Michigan's legislators felt that such an increase would be bad for business and amended the Act in a lame duck session in December 2018, lowering the increase from $.75 an hour to $.20 an hour.  Public Act 368, the law that amends the IWOWA, provides for annual increases to Michigan’s minimum hourly wage rate through 2030 (ultimately raising it to $12.05 in 2030). 

People deserve a living wage. Period. Michigan's elected legislators subverted the will of the people on their way out the door by passing Public Act 368. Keep an eye open for another potential ballot initiative for the 2020 election to bring the minimum wage up closer to a living wage.