LANSING, Mich., Feb. 20, 2025 — Yesterday, the Michigan House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 8, legislation to increase Michigan’s minimum and tipped wages. After the vote, state Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) issued the following statement:
“A key factor for me in voting to support this legislation is that its passage establishes a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2027, a year sooner than last year’s Michigan Supreme Court ruling prescribed. With the high cost of everything from groceries to rent, workers are feeling the pinch, and I would be remiss if I failed to support the minimum wage increase on the fastest timeline possible. The tipped wage will also increase to 50% of the general minimum wage over the next six years, and importantly, the legislation also clarifies in statute that tips belong to workers and adds a $2,500 penalty for business owners who commit wage theft, provisions that were not included in the state Supreme Court ruling. I believe this legislation strikes a fair balance based on what I heard in many conversations with both impacted servers, other tipped workers and small business owners in northern Michigan.”
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