Michigan Minimum Wage Rate To Increase Again In February

It's no surprise that living in the world today is much more expensive than it was in the past. Inflation, supply and demand, pandemics, and more have affected the pricing of everything from food and everyday items to electronics and entertainment. This has led to many discussions about minimum wage and if it is still a livable wage.

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Michigan is one of the many states that has decided that the minimum wage rate they had set needed to be reviewed, discussed, and adjusted to reflect the current times. At the time, minimum wage in the Mitten state was just $7.25 and lawmakers were creating bills to raise the wage.

This bill has been in the works for quite a few years now and just had another rise kick in at the beginning of the year. On January 1st the minimum wage rose 23 cents and currently sits at $10.56/hour, but this number is set to change again in just a few weeks. They are set to rise another 18% to $12.48/hour on February 21st.

Including in this ruling is that tipped workers receive a boost in their hourly pay as well, as of February 21st they will begin to make $5.99/hour, and all tipped workers receive the full minimum wage if their base pay and tips don't equal to minimum wage. This is great news all around as everyone will be making more money and hopefully closing the wealth gap some.

The signed bill says that the minimum wage will reach $15/hour by 2028 and will then increase based upon inflation. In addition, they want to phase out sub-minimum wage tipped workers and have them making minimum wage plus tips by 2030. There have been no rumblings of the lawmakers stopping the raises, but they may amend them.

Republicans have proposed a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $12/hour and then gradually make its way to $15/hour by 2029 before increasing based upon inflation. Meanwhile, Democrats have proposed a bill that would keep the raise at $12.48/hour and then gradually make its way to $15/hour by 2027 before increasing based upon inflation.