After months of calls to intervene, the Michigan Legislature took action this week on minimum and tipped wages.

The proposals demonstrated that Democrats are open to altering the looming policy changes that have been loudly protested by some restaurant workers.

As the Michigan House of Representatives welcomed new Republican leadership to the chamber Wednesday, the Democratic-led state Senate hit the ground running, introducing 15 bills, with some reviving key debates from the previous legislative session.

First, the standard minimum wage will increase Jan. 1 from $10.33 to $10.56 an hour for adults and $8.78 to $8.98 an hour for minors. Tipped workers, who earn 38% of the state’s minimum wage as base pay, will be bumped up from the current $3.93 an hour to $4.01.

The minimum wage will increase in nearly half the states this year even as the federal wage floor remains stuck at $7.25 per hour. In many states, the minimum wage is automatically adjusted upward as inflation rises.

Michigan's minimum wage will increase twice in 2025 after the Michigan Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

Lawmakers push for minimum wage increase in Legislative session