$12/Hour Minimum Wage Initiative Submits Signatures, Could Go Before Michigan Voters

A group pushing to raise Michigan’s minimum wage has submitted signatures in a bid to get a proposal on the November ballot.

The Michigan One Fair Wage group wants voters to decide whether Michigan’s minimum wage should be raised to $12 an hour by 2022. It turned in more than 370,000 signatures. That’s well above the roughly 250,000 that the Board of State Canvassers needs to certify.

If it does, the proposal would go before the Legislature, which would have the option of passing it on its own. If it doesn’t, then the proposal would be placed on the statewide ballot.

Michigan’s current minimum wage of $9.25 an hour would gradually rise starting next year. Employers would also be required to pay the new minimum wage to tipped employees on top of the tips they earn.

2018 is shaping up to be a busy year for ballot proposals in Michigan. The Board of Canvassers has already approved a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, with several other issues pending in various stages.

This story originally appeared on the Daily Detroit News Byte podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts here.