State Rep. Jamie Thompson today voted to advance legislation that will keep small businesses throughout the region, as well as their workers, from seeing the devastating consequences of a Michigan Supreme Court decision that is set to take effect in February.

House Bills 4001-02 strike a needed balance between fostering economic growth and protecting workers. The Court’s ruling from last summer will put unrealistic mandates on small businesses regarding wages and sick leave while phasing out the tip credit, which provides a key source of income for workers and in often cases is more than an employee would make with an increased minimum wage – notably in the service industry.

“If we do not act with urgency, servers and bartenders will begin losing their tips on Feb. 21,” said Thompson, of Brownstown, when addressing the legislation on the House floor. “Local businesses, including some who have been open for generations and are mainstays in their communities, will have to close and those who are able to stay open will be forced to raise prices on customers who support them. This will be incredibly harmful for our state and the places we call home. I will continue fighting for these reforms because they establish a practical way forward that respect all sides of this issue.”

Thompson outlined surveys conducted following the Supreme Court’s decision that disclosed that two-thirds of Michigan restaurant operators would need to lay off staff if the mandates are implemented. Additionally, 94% of businesses anticipated significant price hikes for consumers, and one in five full-service restaurants said they could close permanently.

HBs 4001-02 leave the current 38% tip credit while moving toward a higher minimum wage year over year. The plans also tweak 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.

The legislation pertaining to sick leave 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.

Thompson helped bring the legislation to the House floor through her work on the Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses, which took hours of testimony last week from concerned job providers and their workers. The bills advanced through the select committee with overwhelming bipartisan support before the House voted on them today.

“These bills ensure that every worker and every business owner in the state of Michigan knows that their representative in the Legislature is listening to their fears, hearing their stories and enacting their will in the face of the judicial overreach that we have seen,” Thompson said.

HBs 4001-02 now move to the Senate for consideration.

PHOTO INFORMATION: State Rep. Jamie Thompson speaks on House Bills 4001-02 on Thursday, Jan. 23.