With workers and small business owners throughout the state facing a looming cliff due to a short-sighted Michigan Supreme Court decision, advancing legislation from state Rep. Jay DeBoyer provides critical reforms.

House Bills 4001 and 4002, the latter of which DeBoyer has sponsored, received overwhelming bipartisan support today in the House Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses. The vote followed hours of testimony this week from concerned local business owners and their employees about what the future holds.

“My phone has not stopped ringing on this matter,” said DeBoyer, of Clay Township, when testifying on the legislation on Tuesday. “Long before the introduction of this bill, people have been rightfully concerned about the many unintended consequences the Court’s decision created. Small business owner after small business owner have told me that when this gets implemented, we are out of business.

“I’m pleased this committee worked urgently to move solutions forward, and I appreciate the platform the committee provided to countless people who have sounded the alarm on this for months. We are prioritizing this issue, and I’m hopeful in the weeks ahead the Senate and governor will join us in putting our local businesses, workers and economies first.”

The court’s decision put unrealistic mandates on small businesses while phasing out the tip credit, which provides a key source of income for workers and in many cases is more than an employee would make with an increased minimum wage – notably in the service industry.

HBs 4001-02 leave the current 38% tip credit. The plans also move toward a higher minimum wage year over year. DeBoyer’s bill, HB 4002, tweaks an impractical, court-ordered, one-size-fits-all earned sick leave approach that applies to businesses that employ even one person. In its place, the bills define an employer as an entity with 50 or more workers and don’t subject businesses with less than that to the requirements.

DeBoyer’s advancing legislation also lets employees carry over more than 72 hours of unused sick time to an ensuing year if an employer permits, giving added flexibility for workers.

“I think we should all be able to agree that the small shop on Main Street in many of our communities operates differently than a franchisee or large corporation,” DeBoyer said. “If a small, family-owned businesses has six employees and five of them take advantage of no-call, no-show sick leave as laid out through the Court’s ruling, it’s almost impossible for people to run their business on that particular day and puts extra stress on employees who have to cover extra shifts or pick up extra responsibilities.

“We need commonsense laws that understand these differences. This bill maintains much of the intent behind the original paid sick time initiative while ensuring small businesses and other entities with limited staff don’t have to close or limit their hours.”

The bills now move to the full House for consideration.

PHOTO INFORMATION: State Rep. Jay DeBoyer (left) offers testimony on House Bill 4002 on Tuesday, Jan. 14 before the House Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses.