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Takeaways

  • Michigan employers face steadily rising minimum wages, the phase-out of the tip credit, and temporary tax relief on tips and overtime through 2028.
  • A Michigan Supreme Court decision reshapes how courts evaluate shortened limitations periods in employment agreements, putting common handbook provisions at risk.
  • Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act now applies broadly and will soon reach unionized workforces as collective bargaining agreements expire.
  • Proposed legislation could dramatically expand pay transparency, mandate formal job descriptions, and reclassify many independent contractors as employees.
  • Non-competes and right-to-work laws are once again in legislative flux, requiring employers to monitor Lansing closely in 2026.

As we enter 2026, Michigan employers should be aware of several Michigan employment laws that continue to have a major impact on employers, and some possible employment laws.Continue Reading 2026 Michigan Labor and Employment Law Update: Wage Increases, Sick Leave, Contract Limits, and Key Legislative Risks for Employers

In an 11th-hour compromise late on February 20th, the Michigan Legislature passed an amendment to the Earned Sick Time Act that was scheduled to go into effect on February 21st. The amendatory act addresses many of the provisions of the ESTA that employers found most onerous while keeping in place the basic contours of the original law. Among the changes:Continue Reading Michigan’s Last-Minute Sick Leave Overhaul: Key Changes Employers Need to Know

Mothering Justice Decision

On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court decided Mothering Justice et al. v. Attorney General et al. In that case, the Court reinstated two laws, the Earned Sick Time Act and the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, that appeared on the Michigan state ballot in September 2018. After having been voted upon, the Michigan legislature amended both laws. In Mothering Justice, the Court found this amendment process to be unlawful and reinstated both laws as drafted in 2018, effective on February 21, 2025. Each has major implications for Michigan employers, as explained below:Continue Reading 2025 Michigan Labor and Employment Legal Updates

Yesterday, a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning nearly all employee non-compete agreements from taking effect on September 4, 2024. The case, Ryan LLC et al. v. Federal Trade Commission, Case No. 3:24-cv-00986 (N.D. Tex.), was brought by a Texas tax preparation company and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This ruling was widely expected because the court issued an order in July 2024 that blocked the FTC from applying the rule as to the plaintiff, but signaled that it would decide whether to issue a broader injunction before the FTC rule took effect. It followed through, and you can read the court’s opinion here.Continue Reading Federal Court Blocks FTC Rule Banning Employee Non-Competes

Workplace Violence Reporting Poster Required

Effective September 1, 2023, Texas employers of any size are required to “post a notice to employees of the contact information for reporting instances of workplace violence or suspicious activity to the Department of Public Safety.” On its website, the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”) has posted a notice to employers that compliance is expected beginning on January 8, 2024, and provided a poster to be posted in English and Spanish in a conspicuous place convenient to all employees to comply with this new requirement.

This requirement followed the enactment of Senate Bill 240, which requires healthcare facilities to adopt a workplace violence prevention plan, as described below.Continue Reading Legal Updates for Texas Employers in 2024

As observed in Dykema’s original alert on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Nos. 20-1199 & 21-707, corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies may be impacted by the Court’s broad language on race-based decision making. The ruling has already emboldened those currently in litigation over diversity efforts to push for the elimination of such programs entirely, as discussed in a recent article by the Wall Street Journal.Continue Reading Title VII & DEI Program Implications of the Supreme Court’s Recent Affirmative Action Decision

As legal markets for recreational marijuana continue to open up in the U.S., and public opinion about responsible marijuana use slides towards acceptance, the requirements for employment-related drug testing are slowly evolving to meet the moment. News articles and blog posts about changes to employment related drug testing laws typically have a standard caveat that employers with workers covered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulations are likely not impacted by whatever change in the law is being discussed. This blog post, however, addresses a recent change to the DOT’s rules. Specifically, the DOT announced a new testing option that employers subject to its regulations can use in order to get a more accurate picture of workers’ recent marijuana use.Continue Reading Workplace Drug Testing Update

The Illinois general assembly kicked off 2023 off by passing the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (the “Act”). Governor Pritzker is expected to sign the bill later this year. Once signed, the Act will go into effect on January 1, 2024, and will make most Illinois private-sector employees eligible for up to 40 hours of paid time off per year.Continue Reading Illinois Mandates “Any Purpose” Paid Leave for Most Employees Starting in 2024

While many Americans are receiving their $1,400 payments from the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), signed into law on March 11, 2021, employers should be paying attention to the somewhat buried language regarding Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”) tax credits.
Continue Reading Hidden in the American Rescue Plan Act: More Reasons for Employees To Take FFCRA Leave and More Time for Employers To Receive Tax Credits