State Rep. Rylee Linting today voted for a plan that cements commonsense paid sick leave policies to protect Michigan workers and local job providers.

“Small businesses and workers across Downriver and our whole state have faced the possibility of devastating rules and regulations that would destroy jobs, raise prices on consumers, and force many small businesses to close,” said Linting, of Grosse Ile. “Unfortunately, due to several months of inaction last term, the deadline for when the Court’s decision became effective was on our doorstep. We needed a better way forward, and that is what this legislative compromise will bring.”

House Bill 4002 guarantees all workers have access to sick time while clarifying the rigid, complex rules that were originally set to take effect through a previous Michigan Supreme Court ruling. Linting’s vote comes on the heels of another bipartisan agreement she voted for on Wednesday preserving the tip credit – a crucial source of income for many workers, including in the service industry, that allows them to make even more than they would through a higher minimum wage. As part of the agreement, Senate Bill 8 maintains the tip credit at 38% through 2025 while implementing annual increases, eventually capping at 50% of the minimum wage in 2031.

Linting and House Republicans have prioritized these issues since the start of the 2025-26 legislative term after listening to countless workers and small business owners who expressed concern about their livelihoods. The first bills that were introduced in the House addressed the Court’s short-sighted decision, moved to keep the tip credit and made practical changes to the one-size-fits-all mandates for paid sick leave.

The Court’s ruling created a one-size-fits-all mandate for paid sick leave. Linting and House Republicans have worked for compromise that respects the fact that larger businesses operate differently and have more resources than those with just a few employees – and that job providers should be able to choose leave policies that work best for them and their workers. The advancing legislation also reins in “no-call, no-show” leave that would routinely leave small businesses understaffed and overwhelmed.

SB 8 and HB 4002 now advance to the governor for consideration.