Michigan's minimum wage and paid sick time rules were rewritten by the state Supreme Court in 2024 and rewritten again by the legislature in 2025. The mechanics of overtime, deductions and final pay did not move — and those are where most Michigan claims live.
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These claims are time-sensitive. Legal deadlines (statutes of limitations) vary by state and can permanently bar a claim once they pass — so don't wait for a callback. You are free to choose any attorney you wish, and if you are considering a claim you should speak with a qualified attorney of your choosing as soon as possible. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page explains how Michigan wage rules generally work. It is not advice about your situation, and only a lawyer who knows your facts can tell you what you are owed or what to do next.
Michigan at a Glance
Michigan is the most recently unsettled state in this series. Its minimum wage and paid sick time rules were reset by a state Supreme Court decision in 2024, took effect in a different form in February 2025, and were amended by the legislature on the same day they landed. Anything published about Michigan wage rates before 2025 should be treated as out of date.What did not change is the machinery underneath: overtime at 40 hours a week, wages payable on scheduled paydays, tight limits on deductions, and a three-year window to bring a claim. Those rules carry most Michigan wage cases, and they have been stable throughout.
What Happened to Michigan's Minimum Wage
The sequence matters, because it explains why sources disagree.In 2018, two ballot initiatives qualified for the Michigan ballot — one raising the minimum wage and phasing out the separate lower tipped wage, and one creating paid sick time. The legislature adopted both initiatives, which kept them off the ballot, and then amended them in the same legislative session to soften their terms. That manoeuvre became known as adopt-and-amend.
In Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, decided in 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the legislature could not adopt an initiative and then amend it in the same session, and ordered the original initiative versions into effect. The court set February 21, 2025 as the effective date, giving employers a transition period.
On that same date, the legislature passed and the governor signed amendments revising the minimum wage schedule and changing the planned elimination of the tipped wage into a slower phase-up of the tipped credit, along with amendments to the sick time statute.
The net effect is that Michigan now has a legislated schedule of minimum wage increases with a separate tipped rate that rises over time. Because the figures were revised twice in quick succession, we do not print a rate here. Confirm the current minimum wage and tipped rate with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Wage and Hour Division.
Overtime
Michigan requires overtime at one and a half times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, matching the federal standard. There is no daily overtime, so a long single shift does not create a premium by itself.The regular rate is broader than the base hourly figure: non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and most commissions have to be folded in before the multiplier is applied. An employer paying time and a half on the base rate alone is underpaying, and nothing on the pay stub reveals it.
Salary does not establish exemption. It depends on the actual duties measured against the applicable tests. Michigan misclassification claims cluster in automotive and parts manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, healthcare and home care staffing, restaurants, and construction — along with workers labeled independent contractors while being scheduled, supervised and equipped as employees.
Getting Paid, and What Can Be Taken Out
The Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act governs when and how wages have to be paid. Employers must pay on regularly scheduled paydays, and the statute sets out timing requirements that vary with the pay schedule an employer adopts. Final wages are due on the regularly scheduled payday for the pay period in which the employment ended, whether the worker quit or was fired.The same statute reaches fringe benefits — vacation, paid time off, sick pay, bonuses and similar items — which are payable according to the employer's written policy or contract. Where a policy promises a payout at separation, that promise is enforceable as wages; where it clearly provides for forfeiture and was communicated in advance, generally it is not.
Deductions are the part employers most often get wrong. Outside deductions required or expressly permitted by law, Michigan generally requires the employee's written consent for each deduction, given freely and without intimidation or fear of discharge. A blanket authorization signed at hire typically will not support a later deduction for a cash register shortage, broken equipment or an unreturned uniform, and no deduction may reduce pay below the minimum wage.
Michigan requires no meal or rest break for adult workers. Employees under 18 must receive a 30-minute break when working more than five continuous hours. Where an employer provides breaks voluntarily, federal rules generally treat short ones of about 20 minutes or less as paid working time, and an unpaid meal period requires that the employee actually be relieved of duty.
Earned Sick Time
Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act took effect in February 2025 as part of the same sequence, and was amended by the legislature the same day. It requires covered employers to provide paid sick time that accrues with hours worked, with accrual rates, annual usage caps and carryover rules that differ depending on employer size, and it includes a smaller-employer category with reduced obligations.Sick time can generally be used for the employee's own illness or preventive care, to care for a family member, and for absences connected to domestic violence or sexual assault. The statute also restricts retaliation against an employee for requesting or using it.
Because the accrual figures and the small-employer threshold were revised in 2025, confirm the current numbers with the state rather than relying on any figure published earlier.
How Long You Have, and Where to File
Michigan wage claims carry a three-year limitations period, including claims under the Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act. Federal Fair Labor Standards Act claims run two years, or three where the violation was willful. Both clocks run separately against each paycheck, so the oldest weeks fall outside the window first.The Michigan Wage and Hour Division accepts wage complaints and investigates them at no cost, and it can order payment of wages and fringe benefits along with penalties. A private lawsuit is the route that reaches the statutory damages and fee provisions, and it is the shape that fits a pay practice applied across a workforce. The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division handles the federal claim.
Retaliation for asserting a wage right is prohibited under Michigan's wage statutes and the federal FLSA, and the Earned Sick Time Act contains its own anti-retaliation provision. Retaliation claims run on their own deadlines, which are shorter than the wage limitations periods above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Michigan's minimum wage change twice recently?
In 2018 the Michigan legislature adopted two ballot initiatives on the minimum wage and paid sick time, then amended them in the same session to soften their terms. In Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, decided in 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court held that adopt-and-amend maneuver unconstitutional and ordered the original initiative versions into effect in February 2025. The legislature then passed amendments on the day they took effect, revising the wage schedule and the tipped wage phase-out. The practical result is that Michigan's minimum wage and sick time rules both moved within a short period.
Does Michigan have daily overtime?
No. Michigan pays overtime at one and a half times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily overtime requirement, so a long single shift does not trigger a premium on its own. Michigan's overtime standard tracks the federal one, and exemption depends on actual job duties rather than on being paid a salary.
Can my employer deduct money from my paycheck in Michigan?
Only in limited circumstances. Outside of deductions required or expressly permitted by law, Michigan's Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act generally requires the employee's written consent for each deduction, obtained without intimidation or fear of discharge. A blanket authorization signed at hire typically does not cover a later deduction for a cash shortage, damaged equipment or unreturned property, and a deduction cannot reduce pay below the minimum wage.
When is my final paycheck due in Michigan?
On the regularly scheduled payday for the pay period in which the employment ended, whether you quit or were fired. Michigan has special timing rules for some industries, and accrued fringe benefits such as vacation are payable at separation to the extent the employer's written policy or contract provides for them.
How long do I have to file a wage claim in Michigan?
Three years under Michigan's wage statutes, including the Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act. Federal Fair Labor Standards Act claims run two years, or three where the violation was willful. Both clocks run separately against each paycheck, so the oldest weeks fall outside the window first.
Do Michigan workers get paid sick time?
Yes. Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act took effect in February 2025 following the Mothering Justice decision and was amended the same day by the legislature. It requires covered employers to provide paid sick time accrued according to hours worked, with different accrual and usage limits depending on employer size. Because the accrual rates and small-employer thresholds were revised in 2025, confirm the current figures with the state before relying on them.
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Sources
• Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, Michigan Supreme Court (2024), holding the 2018 adopt-and-amend of the minimum wage and paid sick time initiatives unconstitutional and setting a February 21, 2025 effective date for the original versions.• Michigan Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, MCL 408.931 and following, together with the amendments enacted February 21, 2025 revising the minimum wage schedule and the tipped wage phase-up.
• Michigan Earned Sick Time Act, MCL 408.961 and following, as amended February 21, 2025.
• Michigan Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act, MCL 408.471 and following (paydays, final wages, fringe benefits, deductions requiring written consent, and the three-year limitations period).
• Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity — Wage and Hour Division.
• U.S. Department of Labor — Fair Labor Standards Act.
