Detroit Evening Report: New livestock ordinance will allow residents to keep chickens, ducks and honeybees

12 November 2024 at 22:14

Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we cover a new livestock ordinance, potential changes to the minimum wage and more.

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New livestock ordinance passes

Detroiters will soon be able to keep animals on their property.

The city council voted on a new livestock ordinance today that outlines the type of livestock that could be allowed in the city. Residents will soon be able to keep chickens, ducks and honeybees on their property.

Some animals will have to be tagged and have health records. Owners will need to apply for a license to keep the animals and pay an annual fee. Wild animals are still banned.

City Council passed the new ordinance in a 5-3 vote during today’s formal session. It goes into effect Jan. 31, 2025.

WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley contributed to this report.

Minimum wage changes

A State House bill would keep the lower minimum wage of just under four dollars an hour for tipped workers. If that bill does not pass, within about five years, a new law will require restaurants to pay tipped workers the regular minimum wage.

Democratic Representative Nate Shannon introduced the bill and says some restaurants could close if the higher wage law goes into effect and workers could lose their jobs.

The labor group One Fair Wage opposes Shannon’s bill. It says restaurant workers deserve a regular minimum wage plus tips.

Foreclosure prevention

Detroit City Council member Coleman Young II is hosting a virtual meeting focused on property taxes and foreclosure prevention on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree and Willie Donwell from the Board of Tax Review will participate. The meeting is scheduled for 5-6 p.m., and residents can register to attend by calling 313-224-4248.

November science events

The Michigan Science Center’s November offerings include an exhibit of life-sized dinosaurs, Black Friday membership deals and a hands-on paleontology event. For more information about upcoming events, visit mi-sci.org.

Lego League volunteers needed

The organizers of this year’s First Lego League Challenge Qualifier are looking for volunteers. The event invites Lego robotics teams from throughout the area to compete at the Michigan Science Center on Saturday, Nov. 23. Volunteers may act as competition judges, referees, field resetters and fill other roles at the annual event. To register as a volunteer, visit firstinspires.org.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

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The post Detroit Evening Report: New livestock ordinance will allow residents to keep chickens, ducks and honeybees appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Republicans, servers lobby for tipped credit; Supreme Court answers questions

WDET 101.9 FM

Colin Jackson

19 September 2024 at 13:28

Michigan Republicans are teaming up with some tipped workers to push for a change to new state minimum wage policies that are set to take effect next year.

Those policies would eventually require businesses to pay tipped workers the full minimum wage by 2030, rather than the separate lower minimum wage that tipped workers currently make.

Some service workers are concerned that eliminating Michigan’s tipped credit could reduce their earnings, however, supporters say the change will benefit workers and result in more stable wages.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp) said the extra costs would be catastrophic for the service industry.

“It doesn’t get the headlines when two people are laid off at this restaurant. Three people are laid off at that restaurant. Two people are laid off at that restaurant. But when you’re dealing with thousands and thousands of restaurants across the state, it easily adds up,” Nesbitt told reporters Wednesday.

The shift in Michigan’s minimum wage policy stems from a 2018 ballot measure that what was then a Republican-controlled Legislature adopted into law before it went before voters. Lawmakers then significantly weakened the law before it went into effect.

Earlier this year, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that practice, known as “adopt and amend,” unconstitutional.

But state agencies said they needed clarity on how to implement the law, given that the original timelines had passed.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court answered those questions, laying out a specific timeline and guidance for how to phase in the wage increases.

Attorney Mark Brewer, who represented the campaign behind the ballot measure in court, was pleased with the response.

“The executive branch had asked the court to clarify its opinion and offered several ways to weaken that opinion, to water down the minimum wage increase. And the court rejected all of those,” Brewer said.

The decisions open the door for the Michigan minimum wage to rise to over $15 an hour by the end of the decade, regardless of tipped status.

Whether the current state Legislature makes any changes to the portion of that law that would phase out the tipped wage credit, as it’s often known, however, remains to be seen.

Earlier this week, labor unions penned a letter to Democratic legislative leadership, asking them to keep the policy in place as is.

But Wednesday morning, the group, Save MI Tips, which formed in the wake of court battles over adopt and amend, rallied supporters on the state Capitol lawn, calling for the minimum wage for tipped workers to stay below the general minimum wage, with employers making up the difference if it’s not covered by tips.

Danny Napper is a server who said the phasing out of tipped credit will lead to fewer service industry workers and a worse customer experience.

“I’m going to be working way more hours for way less money. And what is that going to do to me? That is going to piss me off, along with all the other server-bartenders,” Napper said.

But Brewer said he felt the original court decision was already fair to businesses.

“Employers got a lot of benefit out of that decision because the court wiped out billions of dollars in backpay liability,” Brewer said, adding “We have these greedy employers who continue to say that paying somebody $15 an hour, which isn’t even a livable wage, is too much.”

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The post Republicans, servers lobby for tipped credit; Supreme Court answers questions appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

MichMash: Michigan minimum wage increase to take effect in February

WDET 101.9 FM

Hernz Laguerre

13 September 2024 at 20:17

An increase in Michigan’s minimum wage and required sick leave is set to take effect in February. This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow sit down with Chris White, Michigan director of the Restaurant Opportunities Center; and Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association; to share their positions on the new law.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

How the new minimum wage law will affect employees and businesses
How 9/11 influenced the Restaurant Opportunities Center
Concerns the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association has with the rate of increase

Following the recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling connected to the state’s new minimum wage and sick leave laws, the legislation is slated to take effect early next year.

Michigan’s $10.33 minimum wage will climb above $12 by February 2025 — and to $15 an hour by 2029. Additionally, the law will require all Michigan employers to offer up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year to their employees, and end the tip credit system.

White says the law changes are necessary for progress.

“They don’t make enough money. They are essential workers. The cost of living is going up, so wages should go up with that cost of living,” he said.

However, not all Michigan residents and business owners agree that the changes will be beneficial to the state, and especially for small businesses.

“I think the rate and the speed by which we increase the minimum wage is important to the industry, like it would be any small business operator,” Winslow said. “But for the restaurant industry specifically, the tip credit really means life or death for a lot of folks; service, restaurants, dine-in restaurants.”

Stakeholders are now urging the Legislature to amend the laws set to take effect in February.

More from WDET:

More from Gongwer:

Groups push to preserve tipped wage; Singh hopeful for deal

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The post MichMash: Michigan minimum wage increase to take effect in February appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

MichMash: How will the repeal of ‘adopt and amend’ affect small business in Michigan?

WDET 101.9 FM

Hernz Laguerre

30 August 2024 at 17:27

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Supporters of increasing the state’s minimum wage and earned sick leave received a ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday that’s in their favor. This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sat down with Crain’s Detroit Business senior reporter Dave Eggert to discuss the ramifications of the ruling on the state’s businesses.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

The origins of the adopt and amend legislative tactic
The future of minimum wages in Michigan
Michigan businesses’ reaction to the increase in minimum wage and earned sick leave

The Michigan Legislature’s controversial “adopt and amend” tactic refers to the legislature adopting a ballot measure before allowing it to go to voters and then amending it significantly during the legislative session.

The Michigan Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling on Wednesday found that the legislative tactic — used by the Legislature in 2018 to gut a voter-approved ballot initiative to increase the state’s minimum wage — was “unconstitutional” because it circumvented the petition initiative process.

“It was very controversial in the moment. The legislature at the time was controlled by Republicans,” Eggert said. “Ballot initiatives generally are thought to generate extra turnout, particularly on those issues, probably for Democrats; for Republicans and business groups, they feel like the laws were unwieldy.”

The ruling, which will allow for an increase to the state’s minimum wage and tipped minimum wage — as well as an expansion of the state’s earned sick time laws — will have a big impact on local businesses.

Some critics of those changes suggest exemptions for small businesses.

“Do they go and try to go back to exempting all businesses with 50 or fewer employees? That could be a pretty tough lift in the Democratic-led legislature” Eggers said.

The new minimum wage law will take effect in February 2025.

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