Michigan Legislature Continues Debate on Earned Sick Time Act and Minimum Wage Law
The Michigan Legislature remains locked in a debate over amendments to the Earned Sick Time Act and the state’s Minimum Wage Law as the February 21, 2025, effective date for current legislation quickly approaches. The House and Senate have proposed differing versions of bills addressing these issues, with key disagreements over tipped worker wages, paid sick leave for small businesses, and accrual policies for seasonal and part-time workers.
Minimum Wage Law Amendments
Two bills—Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) and House Bill 4001 (HB 4001)—aim to amend Michigan’s Minimum Wage Law. While both bills seek to adjust wage structures, the primary difference between them is how they handle wages for tipped workers. The House version, HB 4001, passed over to the Senate a few weeks ago, but the Senate instead voted on SB 8 this week, which includes different provisions regarding what percentage of the minimum wage tipped workers should earn. The ongoing dispute between the chambers could delay resolution on this issue.
Earned Sick Time Act Amendments
Similarly, Senate Bill 15 (SB 15) and House Bill 4002 (HB 4002) propose changes to the Earned Sick Time Act. HB 4002, passed by the House weeks ago, is currently under Senate consideration, while SB 15 remains on the Senate floor after extensive committee discussions. The primary disagreements between these bills center on the number of hours small businesses must provide in paid and unpaid sick leave, as well as the definition of a “small business.” While both chambers have agreed to define small businesses based on employee count, specific thresholds remain unresolved. Additional differences involve how paid sick leave accrues for seasonal and part-time employees.
With one week before the February 21, 2025, effective date, lawmakers face significant pressure to reconcile differences and send final legislation to Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The Governor has suggested that the Legislature pass a bill postponing the effective date to July 2025, allowing more time for debate and potential compromise.
Upcoming Informational Webinar
To assist with understanding the Earned Sick Time Act and its implications, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will host a webinar on Wednesday, February 19, at 2:00 PM. The webinar will specifically address how the law applies to local governments. Interested participants can join via Microsoft Teams or dial in by phone at (248) 509-0316 using the code 49819075#.
Follow this link for the Microsoft Teams meeting. Join the meeting now
For more information on this topic, please contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org
Podcast 83 reviews ‘disappointing’ budget provisions, new road plan from governor
The governor’s plans for the fiscal 2026 budget and for Michigan roads are the focus of the newest episode of Podcast 83.
“(The governor) proposed a 4 percent increase in revenue sharing (for FY26), but really it wasn’t a 4 percent increase in revenue sharing,” explained Deena Bosworth, MAC’s governmental affairs director. “It was a 3.6 percent increase in the overall amount that we got last year in revenue sharing.
“As a reminder for our members, there was an additional $30 million put into county revenue sharing last year and that went out in a different formula than what we originally were receiving in county revenue sharing. So, there was the base of the $261 million and then an additional $30 million that went out to counties based on an inverse relationship that they have to their taxable value compared to the rest of the state.
“Well, the governor separated those lines, those dollars, out in her budget recommendation this year, and said, we’re only going to give you a 4 percent increase on that $261 million base, and we’re just going to give you that $30 million that you got last year, but we’re not giving any increases on it. … We’re slightly disappointed in that, but also a little disappointed in the fact that she didn’t include the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, which she didn’t include last year, either.”
In the rest of the budget, Bosworth said, “It was really pretty much flat funding for anything that had anything to do with counties. I mean, there was no increase in any, any of our line items: not county jail reimbursement, not prosecutors, not in the Child Care Fund.”
Later in the episode, Bosworth and host Stephan Currie, MAC executive director, reviewed the governor’s new road proposal, which calls for $3 billion from a variety of sources.
“Some of the proposed new taxes that are being proposed would be Facebook ads, Twitter ads, things like that would be taxed. Amazon delivery fees,” said Currie. “You could see a delivery fee tax that goes towards the roads, covering Uber, Uber Eats, those kind of food deliveries, taxi services, limo services. … In addition, there’s apparently a loophole, which I didn’t know about this until reading about it a little bit today, in the marijuana tax, where there’s not all the marijuana that’s being sold is being properly taxed at the point of sale.”
To view the full episode, recorded on Feb. 10, click here.
Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.
And you always can find details about Podcast 83 on the MAC website.
Staff picks
- Michigan’s minimum wage set to jump,. Here’s how it compares to other states. (MLive)
- State and Local Sales Tax Rates 2025 (Tax Foundation)
- Ohio Chamber emerges as unexpected ally for solar projects (Governing)
- House cats with bird flu could pose a risk to public health (Kaiser Health News)
Counties would get 4% revenue sharing bump in governor’s plan
Michigan counties would see a 4 percent increase in the revenue sharing total in fiscal 2026 under a budget plan presented by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration this week.
Whitmer’s budget, which is $83.5 billion overall, $15.3 billion of that General Fund, leaves out key policy initiatives that local governments have been seeking.
The 4 percent increase in county revenue sharing would not apply to the entire revenue-sharing base from FY25. The administration has excluded the $30 million in equalization payments for counties that were first included in the FY25 budget, meaning these payments remain flat. Counties would still see just over $300 million in this plan. Notably absent from the proposal is the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund that MAC and other local government groups have long supported.
Public safety funding is another point of contention. The governor seeks $75 million for public safety and violence prevention, but counties are entirely excluded from eligibility — a move that MAC has criticized as shortsighted. Counties play a central role in law enforcement, courts, jails, diversion programs, specialty treatment courts and juvenile justice, particularly on behalf of townships that rely on county-level services. By shutting out counties, MAC argues the state is diluting the effectiveness of these critical funds.
Another missing element is a comprehensive road funding plan. However, speculation in Lansing suggests a plan could be released soon. With infrastructure needs mounting, many are eager to see how the governor plans to address road repairs and long-term funding solutions.
Overshadowing all budget discussions is the looming threat of a federal funding freeze, which could impact roughly 42 percent of the proposed budget. Lawmakers are watching intently to see how federal decisions might affect Michigan’s financial outlook.
As the budget process unfolds, MAC will continue pressing for adjustments to revenue sharing, public safety funding and road investments
For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org
House advances rule to tie special spending to immigration policies
A rule advanced out of a key House committee this week that seeks to prohibit appropriations bills from including earmarked spending for municipalities that maintain policies perceived as obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
Under House Resolution 19, a municipality — including any official, department, or board — would be ineligible for “legislatively directed spending” (think earmarks, not regular budget line items) if it:
- Maintains any rule, policy, or ordinance that subverts federal immigration enforcement in any way.
- Refuses to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests.
Before a municipality could receive legislatively directed spending, HR 19 requires local governments to submit detailed documentation to the House, including:
- A report on local policies and ordinances related to federal immigration law and enforcement. This must include rules regarding cooperation with ICE and detainer requests and whether the municipality shields undocumented immigrants from federal authorities.
- A formal certification letter from the municipality’s chief executive officer, elected board, or legal representative, stating that:
- Local policies do not encourage or support obstruction of federal immigration enforcement.
- The municipality will comply with federal immigration law.
If HR 19 gains traction, it could have significant fiscal and legal implications for municipalities across Michigan. HR 19 is now before the full House.
For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
Senate begins debate on Earned Sick Time Act changes
The Michigan Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs held a hearing this week on Senate Bill 15, by Sen. Sam Singh (D-Ingham), which has several key amendments to the Earned Sick Time Act set to take effect on Feb. 21, 2025. With time running short, the Senate and House must reach an agreement on changes to the law before its implementation.
The amendments in SB 15 would:
- Redefine the definition of a “small business” from one with fewer than 10 employees to one with fewer than 25 employees.
- Reduce the number of hours a small business must provide paid leave to 40 as opposed to larger businesses that remain at 72 hours but requires small businesses to provide an additional 32 hours of unpaid leave.
- Allow businesses to frontload sick time at the beginning of the year instead of accruing it throughout.
- Cap the amount of accrued sick time employees can carry over each year to 144 hours if it gets paid out and 288 if it does not.
This Senate proposal follows the House’s passage of House Bill 4002 last week, which takes a more business-friendly approach. The bill, which MAC backs:
- Exempts businesses with fewer than 50 employees from the Earned Sick Time Act.
- Narrows employee eligibility, excluding independent contractors, out-of-state workers, seasonal employees (working 25 weeks or fewer), part-time employees (25 hours or less per week) and variable-hour employees.
- Provides two accrual models:
- Frontloading Model: Employers give up to 72 hours of sick time at the start of the year, with no carryover requirements.
- Accrual Model: Employees earn one hour of sick time per 30 hours worked, capping at 72 hours annually. Carryover is limited to 72 hours unless the employer allows more. Employers may opt to pay out unused time to avoid carryover.
- Allows employers to integrate sick time with existing PTO policies for administrative efficiency.
- Clarifies sick time pay rates, excluding bonuses, tips, commissions, overtime and holiday pay.
- Permits employers to set documentation, notice and disciplinary policies for sick time use.
With the Earned Sick Time Act’s effective date quickly approaching, the Senate and House must reconcile their versions of the amendments. Business groups have expressed strong support for HB 4002’s broader exemptions, while worker advocacy groups favor SB 15’s more limited revisions. The debate in Lansing now centers on how much flexibility businesses should have while ensuring employees retain adequate sick leave protections.
For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
Oakland’s Taub, a former MAC Board president, passes at age 85
Taub
Shelley Goodman Taub, former Oakland County commissioner and president of the Michigan Association of Counties in 2016-17, passed away on Feb. 4, 2025, after a brief illness. She was 85.
“Shelley’s life of public service never ceased to impress,” said MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie, “She wanted to serve, she enjoyed serving and she committed the time and energy to be effective for her county, her state and MAC.”
Taub did two long stints on the Oakland Board, interrupted by two terms in the Michigan House, 2003-2006.
Taub was first elected to the MAC Board in 2012 and quickly rose into the leadership ranks to become president for the 2016-17 member year.
During her year as MAC president, Taub led a historic delegation of Michigan commissioners to a special White House briefing in August 2017 and continually championed a county role in arts and culture as chair of the Arts and Culture Commission of the National Association of Counties.
In her inaugural address at the 2016 Annual Conference, Taub said,
“‘One size does not fit all.’ This is an oft-repeated phrase that is intended to convey to the listener that the speaker understands your pain; that the speaker truly grasps the problem.
“The speaker of ‘one size does not fit all’ remembers the old fairy tale about the glass slipper and that you, the commissioner, have been wandering around the country like the prince with an idea or a mandate that does not fit, does not work, trying to squeeze into that slipper, particularly when the state or feds send us the slipper, the shoebox and the bill. … So, what do we do and how do we comply and how in this state or this world can we squeeze a size 10 foot into a size 6 slipper?”
Taub then announced the creation of a message board system for county commissioners to share best practices, questions and ideas, all to leverage the collective wisdom of Michigan’s hundreds of county commissioners. The Commissioners Forum continues to operate today.
In 2016, Taub was selected for the 2016 class of the Women in Government Program operated by the Governing Institute to increase female participation in public service.
Taub also served on NACo’s Board of Directors.
Sign up now for the 2025 Michigan Counties Legislative Conference in Lansing
The 2025 Michigan Counties Legislative Conference will be held April 7-9, 2025, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Lansing.
The event, co-hosted by the Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council, will feature a new format that ensures no MAC member misses any informational session that interests them.
This year, those sessions will include updates on such issues as cybersecurity, Michigan’s housing crunch, road funding options, the state’s juvenile bed shortage and much more! All of these educational sessions will be plenary sessions, meaning no overlapping events or choices to be made.
Special events at the conference include:
- A Strolling Dinner on the opening night for mingling with colleagues and MAC’s Premier Corporate Partners
- A Legislative Reception, during which MAC will honor its “Legislative Advocates” for 2024
- Presentation of certificates to members of the 2025 class of County Commissioner Academy
Member pricing for the conference is $425 for all events, though one- and two-day packages are available. Any elected or appointed county official or member of MCMCFC may use member pricing.
To start your registration, go to https://bit.ly/2025LCregister.
MAC has secured a room block at the DoubleTree, with a per-night rate of $189. To secure that hotel rate, register directly with the hotel by clicking here.
We look forward to seeing you at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Lansing!
Blue Cross to host webinar on using Health Savings Accounts
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are increasingly part of top employers’ benefits offerings. In this employer-requested webinar, Blue Cross, a MACSC sponsored program and MAC Premier Partner, will explore the ways employers and employees can benefit from an HSA. Whether the HSA enables employers to offer a lower-premium plan, enhance retirement planning strategies or reduce the tax burden for employees and the organization, it is a core element to a comprehensive benefit package.
Join Blue Cross on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern time as they discuss:
- Tax advantages for employers and employees
- How HSAs can be an important component of retirement planning for employees
- How employers can communicate effectively with employees across their organization about the advantages HSAs provide and how to make the most of them
Staff picks
- Civic Engagement Series, Part 1 – Berrien County, Michigan (NACo Podcast)
- On the front lines against bird flu, egg farmers say they’re losing the battle (Michigan Public)
- The heist of 100,000 eggs in Pennsylvania becomes a whodunit that police have yet to crack (Associated Press)
- Expanding housing choices: Local governments work together to help homeowners build ADUs (American City and County)
The 2025 Michigan Counties Legislative Conference will be held April 7-9, 2025, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Lansing.
The event, co-hosted by the Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council, will feature a new format that ensures no MAC member misses any informational session that interests them.
This year, those sessions will include updates on such issues as cybersecurity, Michigan’s housing crunch, road funding options, the state’s juvenile bed shortage and much more! All of these educational sessions will be plenary sessions, meaning no overlapping events or choices to be made.
Special events at the conference include:
- A Strolling Dinner on the opening night for mingling with colleagues and MAC’s Premier Corporate Partners
- A Legislative Reception, during which MAC will honor its “Legislative Advocates” for 2024
- Presentation of certificates to members of the 2025 class of County Commissioner Academy
Member pricing for the conference is $425 for all events, though one- and two-day packages are available. Any elected or appointed county official or member of MCMCFC may use member pricing.
To start your registration, go to https://bit.ly/2025LCregister.
MAC has secured a room block at the DoubleTree, with a per-night rate of $189. To secure that hotel rate, register directly with the hotel by clicking here.
We look forward to seeing you at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Lansing!
Creating a dedicated Revenue Sharing Trust Fund that reflects a true sharing of money between the state and local governments tops the list of legislative priorities for MAC’s 83 members in 2025.
Legislation for this long-needed reform won overwhelming bipartisan approval in the House in the last Legislature, but political squabbles in Lansing in December 2024 derailed it in the Senate. Despite this setback, counties remain committed to a necessary reform to ensure proper delivery of local public services, said MAC’s director of governmental affairs.
“Michigan’s 83 counties are unique in the current revenue sharing system in that every last dollar for counties must come through the annual budget process, making county revenue sharing particularly uncertain,” Deena Bosworth said. “And we don’t have to look back far to see how this jeopardizes proper funding. In the state’s fiscal 2024 budget process, county revenue sharing shrank from more than $285 million to $261 million, a 9 percent drop in a matter of months. This legislation is essential to ending this uncertainty and resulting disruption to local services.”
MAC also is among advocates for quick action to reform minimum wage and sick time rules that could leave counties scrambling to ensure proper staffing within financial constraints.
Other county goals for 2025 in Lansing are:
- Compensating Local Governments for Funds Diverted by the Veterans Property Tax Exemption
- Adopting a Permanent State Solution to Funding Michigan’s Courts
- Increasing Road Funding to Address Michigan’s Infrastructure Crisis
“So much was left on the legislative ‘table’ last year that the coming year could be one of great progress, if lawmakers from both parties can find their way toward common ground,” said MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie. “As always, our members, as locally elected leaders, simply want to partner with state officials to make government work more effectively for our communities.”
For more information on MAC’s advocacy work, visit www.micounties.org or contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
Revenue sharing tops county priorities in Lansing in ’25
Creating a dedicated Revenue Sharing Trust Fund that reflects a true sharing of money between the state and local governments tops the list of legislative priorities for MAC’s 83 members in 2025.
Legislation for this long-needed reform won overwhelming bipartisan approval in the House in the last Legislature, but political squabbles in Lansing in December 2024 derailed it in the Senate. Despite this setback, counties remain committed to a necessary reform to ensure proper delivery of local public services, said MAC’s director of governmental affairs.
“Michigan’s 83 counties are unique in the current revenue sharing system in that every last dollar for counties must come through the annual budget process, making county revenue sharing particularly uncertain,” Deena Bosworth said. “And we don’t have to look back far to see how this jeopardizes proper funding. In the state’s fiscal 2024 budget process, county revenue sharing shrank from more than $285 million to $261 million, a 9 percent drop in a matter of months. This legislation is essential to ending this uncertainty and resulting disruption to local services.”
MAC also is among advocates for quick action to reform minimum wage and sick time rules that could leave counties scrambling to ensure proper staffing within financial constraints.
Other county goals for 2025 in Lansing are:
- Compensating Local Governments for Funds Diverted by the Veterans Property Tax Exemption
- Adopting a Permanent State Solution to Funding Michigan’s Courts
- Increasing Road Funding to Address Michigan’s Infrastructure Crisis
“So much was left on the legislative ‘table’ last year that the coming year could be one of great progress, if lawmakers from both parties can find their way toward common ground,” said MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie. “As always, our members, as locally elected leaders, simply want to partner with state officials to make government work more effectively for our communities.”
For more information on MAC’s advocacy work, visit www.micounties.org or contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
ICYMI: MAC webinar answers opioid spending questions
Counties with questions about opioid settlement spending or resources are strongly urged to view a MAC webinar recorded in January 2025 and led by Amy Dolinky.
The approximately 45-minute session reviews MAC’s nationally recognized Resource Center webpage and dashboard and the growing resources county leaders have to ensure they make the best possible investments with their funds.
On spending
“When we talk about spending requirements, most of the settlements have the same spending requirements,” Dolinky noted. “They all have a little bit of difference when it comes to certain aspects, but most are using a document called Exhibit E, which is legally defined as a non-exhaustive list for opioid remediation or opioid abatement.
“Now Exhibit E is about 15 pages and really highlights some of the most evidence-based practices that exist for purposes of opioid remediation, and it focuses on prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery and avoiding items that are punitive or coercive. So, with the Exhibit E requirements, that’s only part of the spending requirements. We also have how funds are used. So, 85 percent of funds have to be used for opioid remediation, or really in alignment with Exhibit E. Fifteen percent of those funds are unrestricted. And with that, that’s the place where we see the reporting requirements.”
On reporting
“When it comes to reporting, I did mention the voluntary survey that MAC offers on an annual basis,” Dolinky said, “but in terms of reporting requirements within the settlement agreements or the legal documents themselves, counties are required to report twice a year to a company called BrownGreer. They’re identified as the national settlement administrator, and with that, in order to get those funds into the county, most folks are using an ACH through this payment portal. Either way, the payment portal has to be completed, and approximately three people in each local government have access to that portal.
“The reporting takes place in the same portal that folks are requesting the funds in or signed up for to receive funds. So, when you’re reporting, you’re only reporting on activities that do not align with Exhibit E so that other 15 percent which is unrestricted. Some counties are putting 100 percent of their settlement funds towards opioid remediation, while others are using that 15 percent for other activities. So, if someone were to do an infrastructure project unrelated to substance use, or a roads project or bridges project, that would be something that would be reported to BrownGreer on that biannual basis. But, right now in Michigan, there are no additional reporting requirements for local governments.”
Calling all new and experienced local leaders! Join the Local Government Learning Community
The Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Townships Association host a free, one-hour virtual webinar each month for local governments to discuss the latest developments in opioid settlement fund utilization. Speakers include statewide experts and local government peers sharing best practices for distributing and operationalizing opioid settlement funds. Representatives from counties, cities and townships are welcome to participate.
When do these webinars happen?
The local government learning community webinars occur on the second Friday of each month at noon via Zoom.
How can I join?
Sign up using this form or email Erin Lammers at elammers@publicsectorconsultants.com to be added to our roster.
Join EGLE on Feb. 19 for webinar on Materials Management Planning grants
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is hosting a webinar on Feb. 19 to explain the 2025 Materials Management Planning Grant Program Application and funding available to counties and regions for materials management planning. This webinar is specifically for County Approval Agencies (CAA) and their Designated Planning Agencies (DPA) who will be developing and implementing their new Materials Management Plans required under the solid waste statutory changes enacted in 2022. Others responsible for assisting the CCA and/or DPA in planning, managing grant budgeting, and/or grant implementation are also encouraged to join.
The webinar will run from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern. Click here to register.
Please visit the following key webpages to learn more:
- Materials Management Planning
- Michigan Materials Management
- Michigan Materials Management Facilities
- 2024 Virtual Materials Management Conference (session recordings)
For questions about the program contact EGLE-MMD@Michigan.gov.
For webinar registration issues, contact BertholdA@Michigan.gov or RoseberryJ@Michigan.gov.
Locals can get federal dollars for energy projects
The Inflation Reduction Act’s new direct pay program provides direct cash payments to nonprofits, municipalities and tribal governments for clean energy projects that are equivalent to the tax credit a for-profit company would receive.
While the direct pay program offers an important financial boost for clean energy transitions, for some, the time gap between working on a project and receiving the direct pay credit can deter even getting started. Michigan Saves can help. Our new bridge financing program addresses the real-time expenses incurred between initiating a project and receiving funds tied to a tax filing deadline after completion.
Learn more and apply
Staff picks
- House GOP leadership fills remaining committee chairs, puts focus on budget earmark (Michigan Public Radio Network)
- Gone a century, Arctic grayling return soon to Michigan. Can they survive? (Bridge Michigan)
- Getting the “Dys” out of Michigan’s dysfunctional Legislature (Citizens Research Council)
- Heavier truck proposals in Congress threaten county bridges (NACo County News)
