State Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) on Wednesday issued the following statement after the Michigan Supreme Court struck down the state’s current minimum wage law, ordering the elimination of the tip credit for servers, bartenders, and other workers who frequently make more with tips than they would with a higher minimum wage:

“Activist justices on the Michigan Supreme Court have crossed the line and are legislating from the bench,” Meerman said. “Today’s ruling will have massive consequences on small businesses in West Michigan that will result in layoffs and could lead to the closure of small family-owned businesses.”

During the 2018 session, the Legislature adopted two citizen-initiated laws that increased the minimum wage and created a new paid sick leave rule. During the same legislative session, the Legislature then amended those laws to ensure they reflected the purpose of the initiatives and would not result in mass layoffs and shutdowns throughout Michigan small businesses. Later, a collection of progressive groups sued the state, arguing that the “adopt and amend” practice was unconstitutional.

“We’ve seen it before in states like California where wages are set by mandate and the outcome never favors workers,” Meerman said. “Closures, layoffs, reduced hours and self-serve kiosks are what is to come from the policies behind the so called “adopted and amended” proposals the Legislature acted upon. This is a strike against the citizen-lead Legislature and a tremendous overstep of the judicial branch.”

A recent survey found that 82% of Michigan restaurant servers wanted to keep the tipping system in place, and 79% worried about losing their job if the tip credit were eliminated. Another recent survey found that two-thirds of restaurant operators expected to lay off employees if the tip credit were eliminated, 94% would raise menu prices, and one in five full-service restaurants would close permanently.

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