Waterford lawmaker backs new committee to preserve tips, protect workable sick time

State Rep. Mike Harris and House Republicans kicked off their new majority this week with immediate action to protect the tipped wage and fix earned sick time requirements for Michigan workers and small businesses ahead of a critical deadline.

A Michigan Supreme Court decision set to take effect Feb. 21 will establish new, confusing mandates for earned sick time that will burden small businesses and take flexible options away from workers. The activist ruling will also eliminate the tipped wage option, which enables restaurant servers and bartenders to make far above minimum wage by collecting large tips.

Harris and his Republican colleagues have been urging action since the Supreme Court justices handed down their decision in July. House Republicans worked to secure a fix to the urgent sick leave and tipped wage issues in December, but the Democrats then in majority blocked the effort.

“House Republicans are back in majority, and we’re getting right down to business to protect the hard-working people of Michigan,” said Harris, R-Waterford. “Workers need help ASAP — before complex red tape and misguided wage changes cut the pay of restaurant workers, close down local businesses, and put people on the unemployment line. In the Republican House of Representatives, our first bills will save servers’ tips and restore common sense to earned sick time. These are our top priorities in 2025, and with a new committee to advance these solutions efficiently and openly, we can protect Michigan workers and small businesses before time runs out.”

On Wednesday, the opening day of session, Harris co-sponsored the first two bills of the new year. House Bill 4001 will keep the tipped wage option in place, and House Bill 4002 will fix the Earned Sick Time Act by clarifying the law’s requirements and giving small businesses and their workers the flexibility to determine the paid sick time benefits that work for them.

On Thursday, Harris voted with his colleagues to form the Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses, which will promptly hold transparent hearings on the tipped wage and sick leave bills, expediting the legislation through the House to avert the Feb. 21 crisis.

A recent survey by the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association illustrates the dire consequences of letting the radical changes in the 2018 proposals stand:

• 66% of restaurant owners say they would be forced to lay off employees.
• 20% would be forced to shut their doors.
• 42% would be forced to cut operating hours.
• More than 92% of restaurants would be forced to hike prices, with many anticipating increases of 20% to 25% by early 2025.

Another survey found that 82% of Michigan restaurant servers wanted to keep the tipping system in place, and 79% worried about losing their job with the tip credit eliminated.