Michigan's Minimum Wage Rising 35 Cents To $8.50 An Hour
LANSING (AP) - Michigan workers making the minimum wage will get a 35-cents-an-hour raise starting on New Year's Day.
The state hourly minimum is rising from $8.15 to $8.50. That is $14 more a week, or $728 a year, for those working full time.
The increase is the second in 16 months under a 2014 law that gradually boosted the minimum by 25 percent. The wage will increase to $8.90 in 2017 and $9.25 in 2018, after which it will rise with inflation every year.
Scheduled inflationary increases will not take effect if unemployment is 8.5 percent or higher for the prior year.
Michigan is among 14 states where higher minimum wages will go into effect in the new year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Michigan's wage will be tied for 14th-highest among the 45 states with a minimum wage.
The amount that employers can pay 16- and 17-year-olds — which is 85 percent of the minimum wage — will stay at $7.25, the equivalent of the federal minimum wage. But it will increase to $7.57 in 2017 and $7.86 in 2018.
The minimum hourly rate for workers who earn tips is rising from $5.05 to $5.27 on Friday. Businesses must still ensure tipped employees make at least $8.50 an hour overall.
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