By: HUB's Absence Management Team

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the Michigan Legislature did not violate the state constitution when it adopted and amended two laws that were passed by voters. This impacts the lower court ruling last year that the original laws that were passed by voters need to go into effect on February 1, 2023.

Overview: Appeal of Earned Sick Time Act

Last year a Michigan court ruled that the state legislature violated the states constitution when it adopted and amended two pieces of legislation passed by voters when the legislature changed the provisions of those pieces of legislation. The court originally stated that the provisions of the voter initiatives were to go into effect immediately upon the ruling but later gave a stay to that order until February 2023 to give employers time to prepare.

On January 26, 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the legislature did not violate the states constitution when they adopted and amended those initiatives. That means that the original provisions that were set to go into effect on February 1st, 2023 are now invalid. Employers with employees in Michigan will continue to operate with the current laws that have been in effect since 2019.

The basis of the ruling was that unless restricted, the Michigan Legislature can legislate as it sees fit. They contended that the trial court was wrong to state that “adopt and amend” within the same legislative session does not interfere with the voter referendum process and that the motives of the legislature are irrelevant to the legal discussion of the process used.

Next Steps

For the moment, employers will not be required to do anything as of February 1, 2023. The rules that have been in place since 2019 regarding Paid Sick Leave are still in effect. Employers should note that this may be short lived as the decision is being appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.

HUB’s Workforce Absence Management Team will continue to monitor this and provide updates as needed.

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER
Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s specific circumstances. You should consult an attorney, accountant, or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your organization’s particular needs.