Key Changes:

The Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) in Michigan increases paid leave coverage to all employees not employed by the federal government.
Under ESTA, employees will accrue paid time differently than they did under the previous Paid Medical and Leave Act (PMLA) that ESTA is replacing.
Unused time will carry over to the next year for employees and the ESTA is also expanding the definition of “family member” to allow parents or guardians to use paid leave for their child’s health or at their school.
Employers must keep employee timekeeping records for at least 3 years, which is an increase from PMLA where it was only a 1 year requirement.
ESTA provides employees with more rights, enabling them to use earned sick time and file a complaint for unused earned sick time, rehiring or reinstatement, back wages, restoration of benefits, liquidated damages, and attorney fees.
The minimum wage in Michigan has also increased from $9.65 in 2020 to $10.56 in 2025, with additional increases coming in the following years based on inflation adjustment.
The phasing out of tipped wage is also incoming, with tipped wage credit currently sitting at 38% and gradually being removed by February 2029.

Timework Conclusion:

All these changes to the workforce structure of Michigan present businesses with new challenges and hurdles when it comes to ensuring employees are paid fairly as pertaining to the new laws. Adjusting pay rules can be complex, ask Timework today about the Groovy scripting language embedded in Infor WFM - which allows business users to write some of the most complex pay rules out there. A robust Workforce Management system can handle and automate changes such as accrual, earned sick time, tips and minimum wage changes easily. Timework specializes in these areas by using the Infor WFM environment to create accurate pay rules, time codes and accrual policies that businesses can utilize without having to worry about their productivity. Timework can also create groups and categorize them to cover family members of employees, as required under the ESTA. Contact Timework today to see how you can transform your workforce.

Article: https://www.detroitchamber.com/the-current-impacts-of-michigans-mandatory-earned-sick-time-minimum-wage-law-changes/

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