State Rep. Timmy Beson, of Bay City, today supported a bipartisan agreement that provides commonsense paid sick leave policies that work for Michigan’s job providers and their hardworking employees.

Beson has worked to provide a legislative fix for a Michigan Supreme Court ruling from last summer that put unrealistic wage and sick leave mandates on small businesses and threatened livelihoods across the state.

“This has been a top issue I have heard about from people across Bay County the past several months,” Beson said. “Unfortunately, it should have never taken this long to get to this point. We should have dealt with this last year, but it wasn’t a priority for the majority party in the House. It was past time to deliver solutions for workers and job providers. These bills do that and are a practical way forward. They will raise pay and offer flexible leave options.

“This was not a partisan issue. We needed to keep jobs from being lost and small business owners from either having to go out of business or raise prices on customers who support them. I’m hopeful that in the future, we can prioritize legislation that reduces burdens and regulation for small businesses.”

HB 4002 guarantees all workers have access to sick time, while simplifying the complex and overly strict rules that were set to go into effect, had this legislation not been passed. The new plan allows employers of all sizes to choose the sick time plan that works best for their businesses and to customize policies regarding “no call, no show” incidents, while safeguarding their livelihoods from baseless lawsuits.

A plan to protect tipped workers, Senate Bill 8, which Beson voted to advance on Wednesday, maintains the tip credit at 38% through 2025 while implementing annual increases, eventually reaching 50% of the minimum wage in 2031.

A recent survey of Michigan restaurant servers found that more than 80% want to keep the tipping system in place. Another survey of Michigan restaurant operators found that if the tipped wage were eliminated, more than 92% of restaurants would have to raise their menu prices, 66% would have to lay off some workers, and 20% would be forced to shut down.

“These are things workers and small businesses owners wanted from their elected leaders,” Beson said. “We served as their voice by approving these bills.”

After passage in both the House and Senate, HB 4002 and SB 8 will become law with the governor’s signature.