CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH STATE REP. DAVE PRESTIN, R-CEDAR RIVER
State Rep. Dave Prestin , State Rep. Karl Bohnak, State Rep. Parker Fairbairn, and State Rep. Greg Markkanenlate Thursday all cast a key vote to save small businesses and tipped workers from devastating mandates set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. In a bipartisan vote, the House passed a common-sense plan – House Bill 4002 – to protect small businesses from unrealistic sick time rules while ensuring workers have access to leave time when they need it.
“This solution is far from perfect, but it’s the best deal we could get from Senate Democrats and the Governor,” said Prestin, R-Cedar River. “Without this deal, the mandates imposed by the Supreme Court ruling would’ve obliterated U.P. businesses and restaurants. Anything that’s bad for the Lower Peninsula – and these mandates would’ve been a lot worse than bad – is apocalyptic for us. Thanks to the hard work of many House and Senate Republicans, and a few brave Democrats who bucked their party, businesses and restaurants across Michigan are going to live to fight another day.”
“The forecast for U.P. restaurants and small businesses is looking a whole lot sunnier,” said Bohnak, R-Deerton. “Today’s vote was a much-needed win for tipped workers and business owners who have been staring down the barrel of radical rule changes for far too long. I’m glad that House and Senate Republicans could join with Democrats to secure a deal that works for all of Michigan.”
“We saved small businesses tonight. It may not have been pretty, but we did it,” said Markkanen, R-Hancock. “When you think about U.P. businesses, nearly every one of them would qualify as small. We don’t have the huge corporate chains that you see downstate, it’s not how we do business. The protections we passed tonight are important for all of Michigan, but they will be the difference between life and death for our U.P. communities who simply wouldn’t have survived under the conditions the Supreme Court tried imposing on us.”
“Though I wish it could have been accomplished before we reached the eleventh hour, I’m pleased that we were able to forge a compromise that will keep so many of our small businesses from having to cut staff or close all together,” said Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs. “I’d argue that Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula would have been especially hard hit, had we not been able to get this legislation through, and I feel as though the strong and persistent voices of the Northern Caucus played a significant role in getting it done.”
HB 4002 guarantees all workers have access to sick time while clarifying the strict, complex rules that were originally set to take effect. The plan allows employers of all sizes to choose the sick time plan that works best for their businesses and create unique policies regarding “no call, no show” incidents. The legislation also safeguards businesses from baseless lawsuits and other attacks from left-wing activists.
A plan to protect tipped workers, Senate Bill 8, passed the House Wednesday, maintains the tip credit at 38% through 2025 while implementing annual wage increases, eventually capping at 50% of the minimum wage in 2031.
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