Michigan Supreme Court’s Decision on Mothering Justice v. Attorney General Damages Michigan’s Business Climate

LANSING (July 31, 2024) — Michigan manufacturers lost some competitive advantage over many other states today when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Mothering Justice v Attorney General, overturning the Michigan Legislature’s actions when they amended two citizens initiatives in 2018. One initiative increases the minimum wage to $12 per hour (plus automatic inflationary increases) and increases tipped wages to the full minimum wage. The other decision creates one of the most expensive and litigious paid leave laws in the country. The paid leave decision will dramatically increase the cost of employing people in Michigan and increase bureaucratic burdens and liability for all employers — large and small — in this state. 

“Flying in the face of a unanimous decision by the Court of Appeals, today the Michigan Supreme Court weakened our ability to attract new manufacturers and retain current manufacturers as companies must compete with the lowest cost locations in the world,” said Mike Johnston, MMA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs & Workforce Development.

“The Michigan Legislature will have an opportunity to help mitigate the damage that will be caused by the Court’s decision. They still have the power to repair the re-enacted initiatives so that the state’s mandated paid leave law can be implemented in a way that will not permanently harm the ability of the largest sector of the state’s economy to create jobs and make transformational investments,” Johnston continued. “The vast majority of manufacturers in this state are small companies, and they will be especially impacted. We look forward to working with legislative leaders to remove unreasonable barriers to hiring people and competing in the global economy before the end of the session this year.”

For more information or to schedule a call with MMA issue experts, contact MMA’s Delaney McKinley at 517-487-8530 or mckinley@mimfg.org.

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