State Representative Joseph Fox (R-Fremont) today praised the advancement of House Bills 4001 and 4002, designed to protect the livelihoods of restaurant workers and small business owners across Michigan.

The House Select Committee on Protecting Michigan Employees and Small Businesses on Thursday unanimously approved the bills, which would preserve the tipped wage and fix earned sick time rules before new mandates take effect next month. Fox attended the first committee hearing Tuesday.

“I listened to hours of testimonials from small business owners and tipped workers from all around our state during the hearing on Tuesday, but the most impactful were the single moms working as restaurant servers to provide for their kids,” said Fox. “None of them knew how they would stay financially afloat if these bills don’t become law. February 21 marks a financial cliff for them, and past inaction by Democrats has pushed them to the edge here.”

In response to a short-sighted Michigan Supreme Court decision from last summer, the proposals preserve the tipped wage at 38% of the minimum wage – which will gradually be raised over the next four years – and scrap an impractical, 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; businesses with less than fifty employees would not be subject to the court-imposed, burdensome sick leave mandates. The plan will also provide clarity and flexibility for the larger businesses that are required to provide paid sick time.

The Supreme Court’s previous ruling would go into effect on February 21, immediately requiring small businesses to maintain three years of records of paid sick leave for all their employees, even seasonal and part time workers, who could claim paid leave without advance notice. Service industry professionals estimate that one in five restaurants in our state would close due to the extraordinary costs imposed by this ruling.

“It is noteworthy that during the committee hearing, the folks that testified against the bills work for powerful labor unions and out-of-state left-wing groups,” Fox said. “Clearly, they have no idea what tipped workers and small business owners in Michigan actually need.”

The plans now move to the full Republican-majority House of Representatives, which is expected to approve the bills promptly.