As the Temperature Drops, Michigan Minimum Wage Rises

Effective January 1, 2017, the Michigan minimum wage will increase to $8.90 per hour. The state minimum wage for tipped employees will increase to $3.38 per hour. These rates are greater than their federal counterparts, and so Michigan employees must be paid no less than these rates.

Nearly 30 other states and a number of local jurisdictions across the nation also have minimum wage rates greater than the federal $7.25 rate, and some are even higher than Michigan’s minimum wage rate. Employers can contact Dykema for more information regarding the minimum wage requirements in other jurisdictions as well as their respective local overtime, leave, meal break and rest period requirements.

Also, as a New Year’s resolution, employers should consider having their time and attendance practices, employee classifications and handbooks audited. With so many changes recently announced by the DOL, NLRB, EEOC and OFCCP, as well as the courts, these reviews are a critical step towards lessening an employer’s exposure to liability for what are otherwise common, but inadvertent, mistakes. A good handbook often serves as a great defense when challenges are made. A weak or overbroad handbook, on the other hand, can serve to impose liability that could have been avoided.

If you have any questions about the information in this alert, or labor and employment laws generally, please call or email your Dykema Labor & Employment law contact, or the authors of this alert, James Hermon (313-568-6540) or Robert Boonin (313-568-6707).